The Beginning Of... Something [Closed | Anna]

"Don't flatter yourself too much."

The voice, clear and sharp like glass, cut through the air, conceit emanating from the words spoken. A woman leaned against a nearby tree, swathed by a long green dress and a lavish white coat; she had an arrogant smirk plastered onto her face, and her deep green eyes were as piercing as her dialect. She looked at the man, and then she looked down on the man, her features dripping with venomous amusement as she pushed herself away from the tree, taking slow, deliberate steps forward. Her gait was confident, almost taunting, and dangerously self-absorbed.

She'd seen it all, of course. She'd been watching from afar when this man had arrived, had seen how sloppily he handled himself when fighting the Hollow. Had she wanted to, Anna could have easily struck the creature down herself. That had been her original intention - not to mention the whole reason she was here - but as soon as she'd seen those shining blue arrows fly overhead, she couldn't help but wait and see how things played out. The lady had yet to regret that decision. There was something laughably cute about seeing her own kin fail, perverse as it may sound.

The meticulous crunch of the grass beneath Anna’s feat came to a sudden halt as she stopped mere meters from the man, arms folded. A soft evening breeze spread across the field, its gentle chill soothing to the lady. She found herself inspecting this man, her eyes darting up and down his form, looking both at him and through him in an attempt to see what laid beneath the flesh. Messy red hair, athletic albeit haphazardly clothed form, bold yet inviting features. He seemed young, almost as young as her, but things were rarely as they seemed in this world. Anna had learned that on numerous occasions. She'd also learned that physique wasn't everything, that there were things far more impressive - and far more dangerous - than muscles. Despite her comparatively fragile frame, despite her lack of height, despite the wild, uncontrolled vibe this man gave off, Anna was not intimidated.

“It was bad.”

Quincy were still rare these days, even with an order finally beginning to surface. Anna never liked other Quincy, which is exactly why she was so intent on having her fun with them, even at their own expense. Especially at their own expense.

She was feeling like having some fun today.

---

WC: 407

A voice called out from off to the side of the field, he glanced over to fins the source. A woman was leaning by the tree, how long had she been there? He must have been too drawn into hunting the Hollow to notice her, rookie mistake. He quickly looked her up and down. She was shorter than he, slender with an hourglass figure, he couldnt tell much else due to her coat covering her. She was quite attractive, 'Shame her voice is dripping with venom.' He turned to face the woman and dismissed his bow as she stepped forward. 'It wasn't that bad.'

As his body calmed down from the fight, his senses returned to normal and he could feel her reiatsu. She was a Quincy, whether that was a bad thing or not was yet to be decided. He knew some of his kind were full of hubris and didnt like Gemischt like him. Why was she here anyway? Did she come to kill the Hollow too but he had got there first? Or had she just come to berate whoever did come for the Hollow? The man noticed the nice dress she was wearing and smiled lightly as an idea came into his head. He bent at the waist and bowed to the woman, "I do beg your pardon, Your Majesty. Please tell me how to improve my skills so that i can please Your Highness the next time I come across one of these beasts" He kept his head bowed as to avoid the woman from being able to see his grin.

Anna watched as he bowed to her, eyes twitching in irritation as she was struck by the palpable coyness of his words. Her lips began to uncurl, her features contorting into a tiny scowl. She had no patience for cocky bigots like him. But she did have class. Yes, that was what separated the two of them. Anna wouldn't let her emotions get the better of her - at least not yet - she wouldn't let herself look like a fool in front of this idiot. The lady forced composure into her face and regained her previous smirk, her eyes boring into this man like knives. There was a hint of hostility to her now, though one that was well-hidden beneath a mask of calm. But that mask was fragile, very fragile.

"Unfortunately, I don't think there's much that can be done to help." Her voice playfully matter-of-fact, emanating confidence and a certain amount of pleasure in putting others down. Of course, that was all this man deserved. Like so many Quincy before him, he was incredibly full of himself, despite his obvious lack of talent. He thought he was good at what he did. They all thought they were good at what they did. None of them could ever back it up, though. The lady let out a pronounced scoff, completely genuine in its arrogance.

"Perhaps you should retire. You might be safer that way~"

That was another difference between her and this man. She was capable. She was competent. She had to be, otherwise the only people left to protect this world would be children who couldn't see their own limitations. Yes, Anna had learned her limitations a long time ago, and she had pushed herself to greater heights because of it. If need be, she would force this man's cockiness down his own throat and teach him something. For his sake, of course.

Though she would definitely enjoy it.

---

WC: 320

When Fáelán heard the womans voice he clicked his tongue in annoyance. Sure he could have handles that Hollow better, but it was far from the worst hunt he'd ever had. His mind flickered back to the fight that lead to him meet Calendrea, not a fond memory to be sure. He straightened up and looked at the woman stood before him, he could almost see the arrogance dripping from her. He thought about a quick spar but he could feel that she was stronger than him. Maybe his should just have a little bit more fun with her and then head off home.

"Well, as you refuse to tell me anything, perhaps you could show me." He looked the woman up and down again and clicked his tongue once more. "Maybe some other time, when you're wearing something a little more... combat ready, perhaps?" A small smile appeared on the mans lips, but he forced it away quickly. The man turned and began to walk away, he raised his his hand and waved to the woman as he began hthe trip back into town. "Just come find me when you want to have some more fun" He chuckled slightly as he lowered his hand. 'What a lovely person she was.'

The man turned, and he walked. Away from Anna, away from the ordeal, completely dismissive of the entire situation. Completely dismissive of her.

And he was such an intolerable smartass about it.

The jab at her clothing, at her whole lifestyle, had not gone unnoticed. Almost instinctively, Anna shot a glance down at her own dress, as if there was something wrong with it. Almost as quickly as the thought crossed her mind did she realize, no, of course there wasn't anything wrong with it. But that instant of insecurity, that tiny moment of vulnerability, was a major blow to Anna's pride. The Quincy's reiatsu flared, violent torrents of blue pooling furiously around her, like a whirlpool of spiritual energy. A ghastly chill spread across the park, but it was filled with the fury of a thousand suns.

His words echoed in her head. "Perhaps you could show me." So, in a sense, he had asked for whatever was coming to him, right? Yes, he had assaulted the lady's pride and tempted her fury, he deserved nothing less than a beating.

To hell with class.

"Believe me, I'm more than combat ready..." her tone was as before: confident. But anger now rippled through the words, an anger that was easily understood, easily felt. Though her fists were clearly clenched by her side, though her posture had stiffened, it was not the stiffness of fear or hesitation. She was resolute, deserving of attention like any still monument was. And her entire being reeked of determination, to prove this man wrong and re-affirm her confidence.

"And I'm more than willing to show you a thing or two about combat."

---

WC: 277

Fáelán smiled to himself, 'Well that was an interesting meet up. Wonder when ill run into her...' His thoughts stopped as he realised the temperature had taken a sudden dive. He felt the reitsu of the other Quincy began to flare, was there another Hollow around that he had failed to detect? The man turned back to face her and was slightly surprised to find she was glaring at him. Perhaps he had taking his amusement a little too far, not everyone had the sense of humour he did.

His suspicions were confirmed when the lady in front of him spoke, she spat her words at him like knives. 'Man, you really got her riled up.' He thought to himself. It was clear from her stance that she was readying for a fight, her words only confirmed it. The man clicked his tongue in annoyance, he didn't want to actually fight her, he pulled his hand out of his pocket. The man summoned his bow and drew it back creating the arrow, he aimed for the womans right shoulder. Fáelán didn't want to injure her too badly if she couldnt avoid the shot. He loosed the arrow and immediately used hirenkyaku to speed to his left and circled round to the female Quincys right side. The cold slowed his movement by just a fraction, but it would only be a minute or two before his body adjusted. He fired another shot this time aimed at her right leg, again he didnt want to do any serious damage to the other Quincy.

Her whole body tensed the moment his bow was in his hand, anticipating an attack. And an attack soon came. Anna shifted her stance as blue light began to gather at the bow's string, widening the gap between her feet, moving lower to the ground. Readying herself.

The man released his grip, sending the arrow soaring towards Anna. In that instant, the lady pivoted on her left foot, spinning to the side just as the projectile reached her. Wind rushed against her face as the blue light streamed past her, a good few centimeters away from its target. The moment she turned, however, she saw that the man had already moved to her right, his bow strung with another arrow in the ready. This time, Anna had little time to react as the arrow zoomed across the field, heading straight towards her.

Shit.

The Quincy quickly gathered Reishi at her feet, forming a thin platform that was visible for just a moment before the lady disappeared from sight with a resounding woosh, avoiding the arrow by a fraction of a second. In that very same fraction of a second, she re-appeared a fair distance behind the man, one knee against the ground.

Her features contorted into an image of malice, a scowl of shattered pride. This man, this infuriating, smug, joke of a man, had got her to her knees. That was a much larger blow than anything he had thrown at her thus far. And she would make him pay for it. Anna placed her palm against the ground. A thin, ghostly white mist began to emanate from her hand, barely visible as it weaved through the blades of grass, like a million tiny snakes slithering across the field. It moved quickly, spreading like a spectral blanket, moving towards the man from behind. Soundless, invisible to the unfocused. Beneath it, the ground began to freeze, the grass turning white and lifeless.

Anna stretched out her free hand, gathering blue light in it, and shifting that light into a curved bow of dark crystal. Vereist Rache, her Spirit Weapon. The Quincy pulled back on its string, making it as tense as possible, and in an instant, an arrow of vibrant blue light had lined itself up, aiming directly at the man's back. Eyes narrowed, breath held, Anna released the string and fired a shot at the man.

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WC: 397