The roar of the crowd echoed downwards, reverberating off the floor of the Pit. Kate grinned, almost feral, at the three standing Garnets. The three men in their haphazard armor eyed Kate warily, although at least one of them glared at Jackie, likely recognizing the lilac hair.
To say that Kate felt excitement at the prospect of blood and glory would be an understatement.
Of course, then the announcers had to go and spoil the atmosphere with their chatter. Kate never took her attention off her surroundings, off her opponents, but she might have angled herself enough that she could see where the announcers resided in their suspended booth, not too far above. Kate could probably hit them if she threw her sword. Not that she would ever throw her blade, of course.
“-and it looks like they’re squaring off now!-” Jen said, amplified voice overcoming the boisterous crowd.
“-hey, that’s right Jen. Wonder what they’re saying all the way down there?-”
“-we really need to get those relays put in down there. Whatever taunts they’re slinging have to be fun, right? Plus. And! And, we could really hear the splatters and cries, you know Jan?-”
“-yeah… well, the thing is Jen, I’m not sure what they’re saying is all that family friendly-”
“-Ha!-”
“-and we’ve tried that before, remember? Oh… maybe it was before you joined?-”
“-I think I heard something about that? What was it that happened again?-”
“-one of the crews had a some sort of auditory enhancement… I don’t wanna get into the details, but it was loud, catchy, and ruined a lot of people’s night…”
“-oh yeah… what happened to the guy with the enhancement? I don’t think I-”
“-and it looks like they’re starting to move!-”
Thankfully, Kate’s opponents broke the monotony and boredom first. Typically, it was to besmirch her honor.
“So eager to die, little girls?” the halest and bravest of the Garnets spoke, spitting a wad of chew out to the side. He had been wiping down a worn scimitar with a rag, oiling it. Despite the blade’s age, it held an edge and appeared properly maintained. Kate had to grant the man some small modicum of respect for that. He was not a complete fool.
“I might have some regrets,” Kate said, giving a winsome smile that showed off her teeth and which never touched her smile.
“Oh yeah?” the man chuckled after a slight pause. He had not been expecting that nature of a response. Only a fool let idle banter catch them off guard. Perhaps he was not so competent afterall. “Well, ya leave yer friend to the boys, maybe we’ll let ya go. Hear yer some kinda important lass?”
Jackie made a small gagging sound. Kate decided to avoid possibly upsetting the other girl by carrying on with any sort of charade. Acting had never been her strongest skill, anyways.
“No, I don’t think you understand,” Kate said. A sharpness in her tone caused the men to bend their knees slightly, tensing instinctively.
“Then why don’t you explain,” the man said, allowing his rag to fall back down to where it hung from his belt. He readied his scimitar in a misleading position, trailing below and behind him, ready to spring forth as a viper’s tail.
“I regret that there are so few of you to fight.”
The man scoffed, spitting again to the side. “Can’t say we didn’t try, when yer momma comes crying–”
Kate guffawed, almost growing distracted by the idea of her mother ever crying. No, in the impossible scenario where Kate fell, it would not be tears that rained, but blood.
“Boss’ll want that one livin when we finish,” he nodded to Jackie. “Maime her or gut wounds, just leave her breathin, aight?”
“Sure, sure,” his two friends said, although their hunched shoulders proved their lack of confidence.
“But, yeah…” Kate let her eyes unfocus and loosened all her muscles yet remained balanced on the balls of her feet while ready for explosive action. “...you’re gonna want to get more fighters down here if you want any sort of chance at living.”
“Kate!” Jackie hissed from just behind her. “What are you–no. I know what you are doing, and I disapprove. Strongly.”
“Ha!” the Garnet fake-laughed. “Seems at least one of you knows yer place. Pity it’s her. Maybe I can put in a good word for ya?”
“I find the idea of collaborating with you and yours is not only abhorrent but disgusting as well.,” Jackie said, beating Kate to the punch.
“Bit wordier then I would have used,” Kate said. “But yeah. I agree with her.”
“Have it your way…” the Garnet spat once again, emptying his cheek of whatever leaf he had been chewing. “Guess it’s time to have at it, then.”
“I wasn’t kidding,” Kate said suddenly. “You should get more of your guys down here.”
“You do have a deathwish then.”
“Nah,” Kate said. She saw where the Garnet Crewboss had been making his way to the final barrier separating the crowd from the Pit, and he was shouting with a red face. Kate waved his way. “Go ahead and send more down!” she called loudly, her voice booming and echoing just enough that the announcers heard, along with the first tier of the audience.
“-did we hear that correctly?-” Jan asked.
“-I think we did, Jan. It seems rumors of the young lady’s skill has not been understated-”
“-that or her bloodlust, at least-”
“-should we bend the rules and let more of the Garnets down there?-”
“-it seems the Garnets wouldn’t disagree-”
“-still… that doesn’t mean we should just give in for free-”
“-right you are. SO, GARNETS, what’s it worth to you to tip the scales of the glorious arena into your favor?-” one of the announcers, Katie forgot which one, enquired to the red-faced and shouting Crewboss.
The Crewboss glared down at Kate and especially Jackie, before shouting upwards and holding three fingers aloft for all to see. It seemed that the man had difficulty shouting to be heard over the crowd and was forced to resort to charades to communicate with the announcers.
“-three thousand? Seems a bit light though-”
“-right you are, too light indeed! Letting the Garnets have there way would mean a change in policy, which is just such a chore to write… I’m not sure if that price is worth the hand cramps!-”
The neutral parts of the crowd, associated with either a different crew or independent altogether, laughed uproariously at the poor joke. The two idiot announcers seemed to be savants when it came to entertaining the unwashed and dumb masses. Just thinking about the announcers’ success in appealing to the crowds left Kate uncomfortably bitter and longing to throttle their skinny necks.
Meanwhile, the Garnet Crewboss held up another finger, bringing it to four thousand, which was a respectable sum of wealth, even on the Hills.
“-I mean, that’s a tidy figure, for sure-”
“-but is it really worth the hand cramps?-”
There were a few additional laughs, though less intense than before.
However, the Garnet Crewboss was sharing none of the crowds’ joy. Instead, he crossed his arms and started to turn his back to the Pit.
The men in the Pit with Kate cried out in an aborted squawk, realizing that their briefly won confidence might be so quickly lost. Kate had to grin at that. These fools might talk a good game, but they knew the score.
Fortunately for the Garnets in the Pit, after the Crewboss made it clear he would go no higher, the announcers relented.
“-but, come to think of it, four thousand is quite reasonable. Whaddya say Jan, two for you, two for me?-”
“-Don’t even joke like that, Jen-”
An uncomfortable silence. It seemed the Jen had perhaps gone a bit too far. This caused Kate’s grin to grow even wider, gaining more of a manic cast.
“-Err… of course. My apologies for that. Naturally, the Pit Boss will take all of it-”
“-undoubtely-”
“-so… uh… let’s send some of the Garnet boys down to even out the fight? That is, if it’s alright to-”
“-yeah, I think that’s fine-”
“-yeah-”
The announcers lost some of their steam, stammering awkwardly as they tried to regain the pace and reconnect with the crowd. During this time, the Garnet Crewboss shouted, pointed down at the Pit floor, and the Garnets who stood beside him began jumping down, clearing the drop without overly straining themselves. However, it seemed that plenty of Garnets remained seated, not nearly so eager to test themselves. The Garnet Crewboss shouted at these sloths, kicked a few, and threated to stab another, before all of the rest of the Garnets began to head down as well.
“-well, the Garnets certainly aren’t taking half measures here-”
“-no Jan, they are not. I almost feel bad for the two girls-”
“-remember, Jen, the girls literally asked for this-”
“I most certainly did not,” Jackie said with a baleful tone.
“Hm? Say something, Jackie?” Kate asked. She had been only partially paying attention to the words spoken, and Jackie had a way with piling them on that made following what she was saying take a bit more effort than with most.
Jackie groaned. “I did not consent to join this foray, nor did I request additional combatants to be fielded. In short, nothing regarding this situation was asked for, no, not by me.”
As Jackie spoke, the most eager of the Garnets landed in crouches, some going down further than others, and one striking his knees before falling backwards in a heap. The crowd laughed at that one. But he soon recovered, if with a limp. The Garnets made their way forward to join the three leftover from the previous fight. The first wave joined, and then a smattering of others, those that the Garnet Crewboss was forced to cajole more assertively.
One of these newcomers, wearing full brigandine and sporting a clean tabard, pushed his way past the rest of the Garnets and shoved past the previous point, taking over as the leader of the Garnets, at least of those in the Pit. It was this new one that spoke with amusement and derision both.
“Seems like it’s your night,” he said. “You cost us a pretty sum, more than you’re worth. Doubt we’d even recover that much if we tied you down in a–”
“-and I ask again!-” Jan shouted, beginning to rile up the crowd. “Are we ready to see them bleed?!”
Kate bit her tongue in irritation, waiting for the loud announcer to take a breath, before she could respond to the man’s barbs.
“You’re about to find out just what I’m worth,” Kate said with a sneer. “That is, if you even make me work up a sweat.”
There, amongst the corpses of under-things and previous fighters, on the blood and gore slicked slate floor, well over two dozen criminal combatants made ready to fight the two girls who had dared to rival them in front of thousands. The moment the girls had made their way down to pose this challenge, it could not have ended any other way. The Garnets had lost an immense amount of face, or at least they would have, if they had let the slight go unanswered. Kate had known this and the Pit Boss and attendants had known this when she had made her request. All of this had been planned by Kate in a rare stroke of cunning genius that she continued to pat herself on the back for, if metaphorically.
And now, with the bulk of the Garnets most worthwhile members, most able fighters, and general management, now down here, gathered and trapped all in one place, Kate could finally address her grievances.
So, when Jackie asked, “Have we a plan to deal with them, or will we resort to brutish tactics and hope for the best?”
Kate felt some offense, but she shoved it all aside. Afterall, Kate had kept Jackie in the dark, as it was the only way to bring the girl down here and let the entire world know that Kate, and Kate’s interests, were not to be trifled with. Rather than snapping, Kate spoke with a smile.
“Straight up would work,” Kate conceded. “But I was hoping more to make a statement.”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The Garnets had begun closing in from the sides, a loose semicircle with the circumference kept equidistant from Kate based off the fear that all of these weak fighters should have been feeling deep in their core.
“What nature of statement?” Jackie asked.
“The domineering and painful kind,” Kate said, baring her bastard sword and crouching slightly, already planning all the most debilitating yet non-immediately-fatal ways she could cut. “Hopefully, very, very–” Kate liked her lips “-painful.”
Jackie remained silent after that, but Kate did not miss the girl’s scowl that she sent Kate’s way.
“-I don’t think I heard that-” one of the announcers shouted, “-are we ready to see them bleed? Or should we cancel the whole-”
Before the announcer finished, the crowd roared, and Kate sprang into action. She only felt a little bad about leaving Jackie in a lurch behind as Kate pursued the flanks of the Garnets at a diagonal. Less than a second later, her blade tasted the tendons wrapping a knee, then an elbow, then the stuff holding guts in. She danced along, felling each Garnet with crippling and painful blows.
The Garnets took seconds to respond to her assault.
Then came the shouts.
Then came the screams and the blood.
Then came the pandemonium.
Kate had planned to disable the bulk of them before they had a chance to realize they were done for. They responded far more quickly than she had expected. They closed in at a charge, loosing weapons as they charged inwards. Only those nearest Kate responded to her. She had meant to draw their ire and remove their capability to flank and surround. She might have made a slight mistake.
A javelin flew through the air and narrowly passed over Jackie. Kate was caught up in her own fight, but situational awareness was something that she had grown her Sweord Mark to provide, so she had never really lost awareness of where the other girl was.
But that javelin had come in flying fast, and Kate was unsure if she could have gotten to Jackie in time to block it, if that had in fact been required. Fortunately it had not been, since Kate had decent taste in women. But it could have, and that was the point.
Kate hurried her pace, flowing through the Garnets, mostly men, several women, cutting and debilitating and slicing with each step and she loved every instant. She even was able to twist and spin with flair that would ordinarily be shameful and dangerous to commit in a fight. But the numbers pressing around her demanded that she move herself non-linearly, and it was amazing.
Another javelin. This one touched several of Jackie’s hairs.
Kate growled at that, slicing down the next Garnet a bit too deeply, severing an artery.
But Kate felt her anger excused. Just what was the other girl doing over there to leave herself so exposed? Had she even taken any of the Garnets down herself, or was she expecting Kate to do everything?
A Garnet dove and attempted to tackle Jackie. A literal, flying, tackle. Of course Jackie piroutted and spun away.
A sword came flashing in from her blindspot, but she bent forward as she finished her spin, allowing the blade to pass harmlessly over head before she flicked the blade upwards and unwound her ribbon.
Finally, Kate almost said. It was about time that the other girl started taking the fight seriously.
Kate turned her attention back to her own fight, just narrowly dodging arterial spray as she hit someone’s neck. What had they even been doing there, moving that way? It was almost as if they had had a deathwish to begin with. How was Kate supposed to leave these Garnets in crippled agony if they killed themselves like that. This was not even her fault, she decided. Although maybe she should pay more attention to where she struck.
The crowd roared.
The Garnet in Brigandine, the localized leader down in the Pits, also roared. There were orders buried in there, somewhere.
Several Garnets tackled Jackie’s position at once, from different angles, knowing full well that they would all collide with eachother. They were dog-piling on her position. Despite Kate’s Sweord Mark, she lost visibility of Jackie.
Salt filled Kate’s mouth as blood sprayed her face. She swore and kicked the dying fool away. She had gotten distracted, doubly so. Not only had she hit harder than she wanted, but when she had, she had forgotten to angle the fool away from her, getting arterial spray across her face. While having a face painted red could make a statement, it was irritating to clean, and a distraction like that, while in melee, could prove fatal.
She spat the rest out and began making her way towards where she had last seen Jackie.
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The Garnets between her and where she wanted to be were irritating obstacles but obstacles that only required seconds to circumvent or remove. However, she knew better than anyone that seconds in a battle were a lifetime.
She finally made it to the spot where Jackie had been.
There was a tangle of Garnets there, trying to regain their footing and weapons, but there was no Jackie. And seeing the absolute mess of bodies, all living, although several with broken bones, Kate seriously wondered how Jackie had achieved that.
Of course, Kate was never given the time to really investigate.
The Garnets pursued her. She ducked in and gave the tangle of bodies a few more permanent debilities before darting away, trying to find the other girl. Kate was having little luck there. The floor of the Pit was crowded with all the mess from the previous fights left about, and the dozen or so still active Garnets, not even counting the wounded and the dying mucking the place up. But even then, Jackie should have been easy to find.
Unless… Jackie was still kicking, or so Kate hoped.
Shouts from the crowd, pointing, and a cluster of Garnets near one of the exits. That was what clued Kate in.
Had Jackie been trying to sneak out? That would figure, Kate thought, at least in that roguish sort of charm that Jackie had. It was also possible that the Garnets were making the attempt to smuggle the lesser girl out.
Kate began her approach, a dash from point to irregular point, striking down all the foes that might slip behind her otherwise. As Kate came near, she saw the flurry of movement amongst the Garnets. They were edging around Jackie and herding her towards the exit on the Garnets’ side.
Kate paused with that realization, narrowly dodging the blow from the brigandine wearing Garnet who had come for Kate herself, along with several other somewhat competent fighters. A wave of fury washed through her veins. These cretins were attempting to steal away that which was hers? It infuriated Kate. She snarled at her nearest foes, quickly dispatching one, parrying another’s scimitar, and then kicking the brigandine wearing fool in the chest. He went flying back.
Seconds. That was how long it took for Kate to finish them enough that they would not dare, nor be able to, impede her progress.
In that time, Jackie had been pressed against the wall, in a very poor placement. Kate could not understand it. Alright, no, she had to admit that she chose to avoid understanding it. Because, really, the ribbon was not the best for chaotic melee. They were a show-weapon, more performative than actually intended for violence.
Considering that, Kate could see it. Maybe coming down here was not the best idea afterall.
Kate charged towards the back of the crowd hemming in Jackie.
Kate would probably get there before anything irrevocable happened to the other girl.
But still, though… Kate was displeased with the inherent risk of it. Because, what if, what if a stray knife struck her carotid? Something that Kate held dear could be stolen away, just like that.
Kate bellowed and crashed into the back of the crowd.
There were still too many bodies engaged between Kate and Jackie. Only intermittent flashes of Jackie dancing and weaving around strikes proved that Jackie was still fighting.
How had she let herself get cornered like that? Kate wondered with some disappointment.
Kate dove through an opening, her blade flashing. Garnets fell, shouting.
The audience roared ever louder, picking up on the fact that Kate just might not reach there in time.
The brigandine wearing Garnet rallied from behind Kate, forcing Kate to again make a detour, lest she be overwhelmed on all sides.
The Garnets around Jackie rushed in as one, with some signal shared betwixt them.
Kate started to shout–
She lost sight of it all–
When she caught glimpses, she was unsure exactly what she had seen. It was bizarre.
A Garnet was lifted up and over the rest, impaled by an impossible ribbon-ish thing that writhed and bounced in a way that no ribbon should. The man was tossed against the rest. More of these ribbons spread out, whipping through the Garnets with ease, blocking strikes and decapitating through a garrote that really should not have worked, at least not that simply.
Men screamed.
Men died.
Kate finished off those standing nearest to her.
The crowd had somewhat died down, likely befuddled by what they saw. Possibly concerned.
When enough of the bodies fell between them, Kate finally realized what she was seeing, or at least, where the ribbons had originated from. They were Jackie’s deviant arm. Kate had always been somewhat grossed out by the silvery gelatinous flesh, but Jackie ordinarily kept it hidden beneath long gloves and longer sleeves.
Jackie herself seemed pale faced, trembling slightly. The pulped bodies surrounding her, the formidable aroma, the slicked moans from those too stubborn to die just yet, all that mess might have had something to do with the state. A quick passover showed that Jackie was not injured, at least. So there was that.
Kate drew Jackie’s attention away from the gore. Not everyone enjoyed that sort of thing, and Kate would hardly think less of the other girl for that.
“So, uh…” Kate trailed off, not really knowing what to say but realizing that a distraction was required. “That got a bit spicy, huh?”
Jackie narrowed her eyes at Kate. Kate felt a little nervous all of a sudden, and she was not exactly sure why. Jackie had yet to use her words though, so Kate was left floundering.
“But… uh, yeah. Seemed to turn out well enough…” Kate continued.
Fortunately, Kate was saved from floundering further when the Garnet Crewboss from up in the audience began shrieking and swearing at the top of his lungs, likely realizing that he had just lost his powerbase and would soon be polluting some alley somewhere, if his enemies were generous to let him die quickly at all.
Naturally, the announcers mocked him and everyone laughed.
It was disgusting. The Crewboss, not the mess.
Kate eventually had enough, planting her sword in the back of some still squirming pile and bellowed upwards with her powerful lungs.
“Get your godslicking self down here, you coward!” she shouted up, knowing that only the tone would be conveyed across the distance, and not necessarily her words themselves.
However, even though she had insulted the waste of breath, he still held himself up there, screaming, as if he were too good to come down and fight her.
It was dumb. He was a dead man walking, anyways. He might as well go out with a bang. It would be better than whatever other ending he might find elsewise.
It seemed that some in the crowd seemed to realize this. Either hoping to get in with the rivals of the Garnets, or maybe just getting some justice of their own, but several men and women came up from behind him, while others shouted warnings to him, while others shouted encouragement to those approaching him. They grabbed him by either side.
He flinched. He struggled.
They pushed him up and over, sending him tumbling gracelessly down to the stone floor below.
Surprisingly, he somewhat recovered midfall and only landed poorly, as opposed to fatally, which was what she would have expected. He still shrieked the entire way down though, and he likely sprained several somethings when he landed.
But credit where credit was due, the Crewboss had resigned himself to his fate and he was meeting it on his feet. Kate gave him the chance to orient himself. She passed the moment by kicking several of the fallen nearest her. Her toe broke the brigandine wearing man’s jaw with a satisfying crack.
Finally, the Crewboss seemed to collect himself to turn his attention towards where she stood.
“Ready to die then?” Kate asked him.
He scoffed. “Not now, nor ever,” he said. He recovered a scimitar from one of the fallen nearest to him. He eyed the blade, testing its balance and taking a few practice swipes. “You might have fought some of the boys, but that’s nothin’ compared to me. You even know who you’re facing?”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Just checking though, you’re the head of the Garnets, yeah?”
“Obviously,” he said. “Why, you lookin to join?”
Kate doubted he was serious. But even if he was, “You couldn’t afford me,” she scoffed.
“I’d believe it,” he said, eyes panning over all the fallen Garnets about. “Where’d your friend get off to?”
Kate paused, realizing that she had lost track of Jackie once again. The other girl had been standing nearby in the midst of the mess. And now, despite Kate’s perception, Jacke was nowhere to be found.
“She’s somewhat of a rogue,” the man said, almost jovial. “Probably shoulda just let us have at her. People like that aren’t healthy to be around.”
Kate’s lip bent upwards in a disdainful snarl. “What would you know?” Kate spat.
“About rogues, assassins, and that ilk? A lot. It’s the business.”
“Whatever,” Kate scoffed. “Let’s see if you fight as good as you talk.”
Kate thought she heard Jackie groan in exasperation from somewhere nearby, but Kate could not take her attention off the Garnet Crewboss as he was now charging towards her, his prodigious weight leading to a prodigious momentum that would be dangerous to confront head on.
Kate waited until the last second before sliding away from his charge and flashing her blade in his path. He tried to parry, but it came too late, he had committed too much with too little skill. Several steps later and he crumpled about his stomach, his guts threatening to leak out.
“Gods take you!” he swore. “Must you?” he said, along with plenty of panting and groaning and several swears.
“Yep,” Kate said in a fashion that she had been told was somewhat irritating.
Kate would have left the man there to die an agonizing death beneath the gaze of bored spectators, however Jackie reappeared near where the man had crumpleld.
“You are the leader of the Garnets?” Jackie asked, never nearing striking range, not that the man had enough presence of mind to do so.
“Y-yeah,” he said.
“No others will continue your vendetta?” Jackie further asked.
“Heh. Like I’d tell you that.”
“A shame,” Jackie said with a sneer. “Did you know, your crew has caused me much dissatisfaction.”
“-itch-” the man choked out a curse, not that it mattered.
“However,” Jackie said, ignoring the insult. “In my magnanimity, I will aid you.”
“Uh, Jackie?” Kate asked. “You know he’s gonna–”
Before Kate could finish warning Jackie off helping the lout, no matter what false promises he might give, Jackie’s deviant arm uncoiled, several silver ropes shot out and impaled the Crewboss, one in the gut, one in the hips, and one in the chest. They lifted him up, forcing Jackie to brace her legs and lean back to counter balance.
The man groaned. There was a tearing sound. Chunks of the man came loose, quite messily.
The crowd roared in pleasure.
Jackie ignored it all, and finished saying, “Much, dissatisfaction.”
The Pits were boring after that. Despite the wounded still left, none were in a state to pose any challenge. As Kate and Jackie had volunteered and had no actual stakes in running the floor, the attendants let them leave one of the side gates into the many tunnels that led out from the Pit.
An attendant offered to guide them back to the surface, but Kate knew the way, and she wanted some time alone with Jackie besides.
They walked through the service tunnels in silence for several minutes, giving Kate an uncomfortable comparison to a somewhat similar walk with a more-exotic female. Of course, the comparison was unfair to Jackie, what with comparing her to a beast, which is what left the parallel distasteful, at least to Kate.
So rather than focus upon the similarities, Kate focused on the differences. The tunnels they traversed and climbed were smooth and even, carved with artificed tools, as opposed to formed during the Shattering. They were safely ensconced in the heart of Southbridge, even if they were in the Slums. Afterall, the worst Kate had to fear in the city was people, not an unending wave of animated and contagious vegetation.
Just thinking of the snapping tendrils tying together still living animals and people, robbing them of free-will, infesting their brains and nervous systems… it… Kate shook her head, trying even harder to distract herself.
The vigorous motion drew Jackie’s attention to Kate, and Kate seized the opportunity to break the awkward silence.
“Bet you’re feeling something strong after that, huh?” Kate asked, trying to get a read on the girl. If Kate were in Jackie’s shoes, Kate would have been feeling relief from having a threat removed, vindication from delivering justice against those who wronged her, and most of all, she would be feeling that shaky sort of after-glow feeling that one had after an intense bout. But Kate had since come to realize that what she thought a person should be feeling seldom matched with what they purportedly felt. It was bizarre, but Kate had also learned that feelings did not always follow logic. Case in point, her attraction to a beast she had once encountered. She shivered at the memory of that snout and tongue and soft pelt of–
“Fun, right?” Kate asked, breaking her own train of thought with the first thing she thought.
Jackie slanted her jaw and chewed on her tongue, eyes narrowed in thought.
Kate coughed, awkwardly, continuing to lead the way through the poorly lit tunnels. If not for Jackie’s uncanny night-eye and Kate’s Sweord Mark, avoiding tripping hazards would have been much more difficult. As it was though, they were making fine progress ascending the nearly black tunnels towards the surface.
“Of course you would think that,” Jackie said, finally breaking her silence, finally giving Kate a lifeline out of the silence which had been deafening.
“You thought so to, right?” Kate said. “I mean, what’s the point of sparring if you never put those skills to use, right?”
Jackie scoffed. “One does not purchase insurance and then feel remorse when their property remains standing and in hale condition.”
“Uh…” Kate scratched the side of her arm. “Well, I don’t really follow that example, but it’s good to keep your skills from getting rusty, yeah?”
Kate glanced nervously at Jackie and they fell into another awkward silence.
But, Kate decided, that was probably alright. Sometimes a little introspection was a good thing, especially after a good brawl.
But, the silence continued, even as they exited the tunnels and entered the large thoroughfare that passed through the Slums and headed towards the Divide and back towards the Hills.
But, they had not left the Slums entirely just yet, and Kate felt herself longing for another distraction, something she and Jackie could bond over.
Maybe an attempted mugging would have livened things up, but even the most desperate waif would only have to take one glance at the pair, especially Kate’s stature and obvious blood staining her blonde hair, well, that combined with her healthy visage meant it was not her blood, and that meant she was the opposite of the sort of target that an opportunistic scavenger would pick.
When they crossed over the Divide and into the better half of town, Kate brought Jackie to a wash-room at a somewhat open bath-house. Of course, Kate paid for it. Of course, Kate would be unbothered with a bit of gore flaking off her hair, and she was sure Jackie would feel the same. But walking around the nicer part of town looking that way would draw unwanted attention from the Knights. And unfortunately, most of them knew Kate’s visage well enough that word would get back to her mother, the captain.
No thank you, Kate thought. Besides, Jackie had looked uncomfortable with the mess, even if the bulk of it had landed on Kate, not Jackie.
But even after Kate had cleaned up, the other girl would hardly look Kate’s way.
Kate was beginning to have some doubt that the date was going well. Even though Kate had brought them a fun and relatively safe time, even though Kate had paid for everything, and even though Kate had gotten rid of Jackie’s enemies and got her justice that she never would have found otherwise. Even after all of that, Kate suspected that Jackie was less than appreciative of Kate’s efforts.
And what was worse, this state continued as they climbed Blossom’s Hill.
Jackie was walking a bit faster at that point, almost edging out in front of Kate. Of course, Kate’s long legs easily kept up, but it meant that their pace had increased, and that the time of action was quickly passing. Kate wanted to address it, to fix it, but it was hard because she was unsure of what there was that needed fixing.
The silence was bothersome, almost resistant, to Kate’s plans. Kate was not about to be beaten by an immaterial concept. No, she would wrangle it, throttle it, and then stab it until it died. Why was she even thinking this way? All she must do is speak. And do so before the girls finished reaching Ma’Ritz and went their separate ways.
Eventually, Kate once again made an attempt. Even if it felt awkward. Even if she lacked the right words. She still tried. And she was sure that she would win… eventually.
Kate cleared her throat. “So, uhhh…”
Jackie glanced her way for half a second before looking away, nearly the opposite direction.
“I bet you’re feeling pretty good now that that’s over and the Garnets are done for, huh?”
Jackie inhaled through her teeth. Almost a sharp hiss.
“Ah…” Kate scratched herself as they walked. “You don’t think?”
Jackie scoffed, but kept her thoughts to herself.
Kate was not a fan of the attitude, to be honest. She decided that she, at least, would be truthful and communicative, even if Jackie was not.
“I don’t know why, but I’m feeling that you’re a bit ungrateful. Which is bizarre. And I don’t know how it’s me that’s using words, rather than you. Afterall, that’s usually your thing. Using way, way too many words to say the simplest stuff.”
Jackie rolled her eyes again, and then responded with something akin to sarcasm.
“Oh?” Jackie asked, turning Kate’s way. There was some fight in the girl’s eyes, but not enough to really get the blood pumping. “I would not desire you to feel that I am ungrateful and I would be remiss in my duties should I leave you with that impression. Please, tell me how I should behave?”
Kate might not have been the most socially aware gal, but she knew sarcasm when she heard it. Usually.
“Maybe you could start by thanking me–” Kate began, but Jackie spoke over the top, cutting Kate off.
“How should I behave when a person I had trusted has thrust me into danger without forewarning?”
“-wasn’t that bad-” Kate protested, but Jackie kept going.
“Forced me to reveal some of my capabilities before thousands of potential aggressors?”
“-well, you didn’t do anything that they already couldn’t figure out-”
“Oh? Do you truly believe that?” Jackie asked while waving her deviant arm closer to Kate’s chin. Kate recalled that same arm somehow garroting and decapitating an adult male and she did her best to avoid flinching or recoiling, although she was not entirely successful. “And this is what I feared,” Jackie said with a weary sigh, allowing her deviant arm to drop back to her side. “People will consider me to be a monster. Which is sub-optimal, if you were unaware.”
“No,” Kate said, vehemently disagreeing with the notion. “They know not to mess with you now. Gods, even I hadn’t known you were that dangerous. That was crazy, in all the right way.”
Jackie considered Kate and stewed upon what Kate said. Kate seized the chance to win at the conversation.
“You proved yourself, and not a single two-bit thug will try you again. We got rid of the Garnets, which I know have been planning something to take you down. Word will spread to the Peacekeepers to, most likely, and they will be hesitant to demand their ‘honest dues,’ again, any time soon. And besides all that, we had fun. We spent time together. Don’t even try lying to me otherwise,” Kate finished, giving her best winsome smile and nudging Jackie in the side.
Jackie seemed to almost choke, before shaking her head and making what could have been a strangled laugh.
“Why I would expect different from any sort of date, I am unsure.”
“Look,” Kate said, trying again to change the other’s girl’s perspective to something a bit more reasonable. “We went out, saw some stuff, had some drinks, got the blood pumping, and fixed a longstanding problem. If someone were to do the same for me, I’d be ecstatic.”
“From your point of view, considering your tendencies, that does seem to be a reasonable conclusion to draw.”
“So, I’m wondering if maybe it was something else about tonight,” Kate said. “Wondering if it was the slums themselves that bothered you. Cuz, I can see where you’d be coming from. It’s pretty gross across the Divide.”
“And yet, you brought me there all the same.”
“Uh, yeah? It’s the best place to watch a fight or get some yourself in the city.”
“Really?” Jackie asked, sounding unconvinced.
“Yeah. I mean, the baron’s got his own little club, and there are a few others, but those’re sketch. Guess there’s some stuff way down in the tunnels, but it’s small fry and inconsistent. The Pits are the best place, no joke.”
“Alright,” Jackie said. “Say I believe that. I still would have appreciated being consulted first, before dragging me into that.”
Kate sighed. They were just about to Ma’Ritz now.
“Aren’t dates normally supposed to be that way though?”
“What way?”
“A man would take a woman–” Kate’s voice may have carried a hint of derision, and she may have been sneering “-and they go wherever the guy picked that night. The guy pays and stuff, but there’s not really much give or really discussion about where they’d go. Right?”
Jackie’s eyes widened slightly, her eyebrows rose.
“Because of this patriarchal misogyny–”
“-that’s the word I was thinking of!”
“-that excuses a duplication of that same behavior?”
“Well, no, I guess. But it’s not so bad in our case.”
“Why?”
“Well… ?”
“Because?”
Kate coughed into her shoulder, not hiding her face, but maybe concealing it slightly.
“Well, I’m not a dude,” Kate finally said, while adding a smacking, “Duh.”
Jackie let out a weary sigh. “I suppose that you are not, in fact, a dude.”
“Thank the Crown for that, huh?” Kate said with a laugh.
“Indeed,” Jackie said wryly.
They had finally reached the entrance to the service side of Ma’Ritz. Kate reached the door before Jackie and opened it for her. Or tried to. Turned out that it had to be unlocked by Jackie first. But during the next fifteen seconds of social fumbling, Kate kept herself ready.
Jackie finished unlocking the door and slid it open partway. Kate turned out to be in the way of it fully opening, which Kate was not so eager to relinquish. The date just felt unfinished. There had to be something more to top an already awesome evening. And sure, maybe part of it was fumbled, but overall, Kate still felt pretty good about how things went.
Jackie turned to look up at Kate, and Kate down at Jackie.
Jackie’s face was once again placid.
“Thank you for taking me out this evening,” Jackie said. “While there were some differences in expectations, I do appreciate your efforts. And just as well, I appreciate the fact that the Garnets are no more.”
“Yeah! It was loads of fun!” Kate said.
Jackie continued looking up at Kate. And Kate was wondering if maybe their lips should be mashing a bit more, but also was hesitant to initiate after the earlier awkwardness. Finally, Jackie had mercy. She raised up on her toes and pecked Kate on the cheeks, before Kate could readjust to seize something a bit more satisfying.
But then Jackie was back down, and in the distraction, Kate forgot she was blocking the door.
Jackie slipped in and turned around from the other side.
“Then we will see eachother next at the Academy?” Jackie asked.
“Uh… yeah…” Kate said. Jackie waved and was about to turn, when Kate, feeling unsatisfied, blurted the first compliment that really came to mind. “I thought your arm was awesome!”
“Pardon?” Jackie asked, stopping mid turn and speaking over her shoulder.
“When your deviation took out everyone? It was too fast for me to really see, but what I did see was impressive. If I knew that sort of thing were possible, I might be considering getting the same thing done.”
For some reason, Jackie gave a small and sad smile.
“It would not be worth it, I think,” Jackie said. “Good night, Sir Kate.”
“Night!” Kate called out as the door shut.