[Action | Closed] You're not welcome here

[bunny_doll]

Who: Ni and Astronema
What: Ni shows up in the Bay, still bloody from the fight with Sanzo and co
Where: The Bay
Warnings: Not really

Huh. That neatly summed up Ni's thoughts throughout waking up somewhere that wasn't a forest after getting shot in the face and, presumably, not even the same world he was used to. The Bay created an unfortunate bottleneck. He couldn't hide who he was here and couldn't even teleport himself away, having no idea what he might run into trying that.

This all would be a curiosity to explore later. Now he was annoyed. He'd set up that confrontation months in advance, only to have it interrupted twice. How unbelievably rude.

It was nighttime, a small upside to all this, spoiled somewhat by bright street lights nearby. The sooner he adjusted to this new place the sooner he could disrupt whatever calm it had. First he needed to not be so obvious...

Comments

[astronema]

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

That was a very cheerful-sounding Astronema, perched atop a streetlight's bowed neck as though it was a seat like any other. Her hair was purple today, long and curly. Her booted legs dangled casually off her perch, crossed at the knee, tall heels gleaming in the light.

The stranger was wearing a lot of black. And blood! He got points for fashion.

[bunny_doll]

"Just a weary traveller, what else would I be?" Despite his annoyance at the situation, Ni's voice was cheerful, playful. Whatever the woman was, she was powerful. She could be a threat or she could be useful. Both, maybe, he would prefer that.

He sauntered over to the streetlight she perched on and leaned against the pole, looking up at her. A powerful curiosity, she, and she'd practically landed in his lap. It'd only be better if that was literal.

"'Sup?"

[astronema]

Sadly for Ni, there was no skirt to look up. Nope, just a whole lot of skin-tight black vinyl-that-wasn't, layered under the rest of her usual garb. The Queen toyed with her locket with one hand, the other laying on the neck of the light. "Oh, so you're just a normal guy, hm? Pity, I'd hoped for someone interesting to come with all that darkness."

[bunny_doll]

"Just your run of the mill pervert, sad to say," Ni replied with laughter in his voice. So she knew something of what he was? Or what he could do? Or was that just a comment on what he was wearing? He doubted it.

It was deeply frustrating to be so ill informed. If this was going correctly he'd have known everything about her down to her favorite underwear before she ever saw him.

"You aren't afraid of the dark are you?" Of course she wasn't, but that's not really what he was asking.

[astronema]

The joke was on Ni; Astronema didn't know what underwear was.

She uncrossed her legs and lifted them to the side as she leaned over to lounge sideways on the neck of the light, cat-like both in grace and lack of apparent worry about falling. She propped her head up on one gloved hand, and flashed a brilliant smile down at the robed stranger.

"Absolutely petrified," her voice dripped with amusement of her own.

[bunny_doll]

"It's so frightening, isn't it?" Ni shuddered and let out a dramatic sigh. "What are you doing out here if it scares you so? The lamps only keep it at bay so long."

The streetlight popped suddenly, the bulb shattered inside its plastic casing. Who could have done that? Not the priest, surely, his arms were crossed and he hadn't spoken a word.

"Whoopsie. See, they never last." He sighed again.

[astronema]

"How awful," Astronema's free hand went back to playing with the locket around her throat. If she was cat-like, this was her tail swishing to and fro. She hadn't even jumped or flinched at the sudden pop, as though expecting it. "It's good to face one's fears, don't you think? But don't worry, if you get too scared I can light it back up again for you."

[bunny_doll]

"How kind of you. Are you out here to help poor, unfortunate strangers like me? Noble." Ni pushed himself off the pole to arch his back and pop his neck. Facing off against Sanzo's friends had taken more out of him than he expected. He could feel a headache building at his temples, he didn't know why.

[astronema]

Astronema rolled precariously close to the point where she might fall, mostly on her stomach. The arm propping her chin up lowered, so she could pillow her head on her hard bracer. Her legs bent up at the knee, and she dropped her locket to let her free hand dangle down, as relaxed as could be. She looked like she could nap up there on that cold, narrow metal arch with no problems.

"Well, someone clearly has to. Did you see the hologram? Dreadful thing. So loud. I was considering blowing it up."

[bunny_doll]

Ni put his hands on his hips and looked to the side, as if pondering his response carefully. Opinions on holographic greeters were important, no?

"It would be a shame if you had," he replied, sounding put-out. "This organization can't know that such kind-hearted people as yourself will be out here to guide the lost. I found her helpful, in a way. You wouldn't want the authorities after you so quickly, would you?"

He sounded aghast at the very idea. Such a nice young woman in jail? Perish the thought.

[astronema]

"So quickly? They wouldn't be quick enough," Astronema shrugged casually. Somehow. On the arched neck of the defunct light. "But it might be entertaining to see them try."

She wiggled her gloved fingers down at Ni, or more specifically, down at...

"What is that marvelous thing on your shoulders? It's like looking at a black hole. But ever-so much more portable."

[bunny_doll]

Ni shrugged, putting his hands out to his sides for emphasis. Oh that wellspring of darkness? Was that really important? If he was bothered by her noticing the power the sutra had, he didn't show it.

"This? Nothing special. I'm sure it doesn't measure up to you. Beauty and power, what a wonderful mixture."

[astronema]

Astronema's fingers stopped wiggling, but only because she was too high up to actually make the 'grabby hand' more effective.

"So you wouldn't mind me taking a look at it, if it's nothing special?" The Queen ignored his attempts to butter her up, completely used to such words. Usually they came from fear, however, not... whatever his motivation was. That was the only thing that made Ni's comment unique.

[bunny_doll]

"A touch for a touch, a look for a look," Ni replied, grin widening as he spoke. She wasn't stupid enough to just make a grab for it, he'd give her that. She was almost interesting. She had enough power to give him pause, that was something on its own.

[astronema]

"Touch what, look at what?" Astronema had no idea what a pervert was, or she wouldn't have to ask what he was on about. The Queen sounded bored more than suspicious, at least. She was nearly thirty feet off the ground, and as unconcerned as ever about the drop.

[bunny_doll]

Ni laughed. This big scary kitty cat was looking down at him like a mouse to be devoured and she was a virgin? Or sadly clueless, if not. How adorable, maybe he could make her blush?

"That requires a very hands on explanation, kitty cat. I don't think you'd like that." The clueless were so boring when it came to that kind of thing, sadly.

[astronema]

Kitty cat? Really? Astronema sighed at that, the audible equivalent to rolling her eyes.

The Queen dropped her foot to the arch casually, and the impact of her boot had the light at the end of the pole crackling and sparking with mundane electricity for a second before it suddenly lit up, far brighter than before. The violently violet light it now cast made eerie shadows that the mundane bulb hadn't.

It was light, but it wasn't... light light. It sang with a similar flavor of power as the thing on Ni's shoulders, if not the same intensity. Corrupted, dark... evil. And it was a lot of power, but expended as freely as flicking a light switch. It might make one wonder how deep her reserves ran.

Astronema casually rolled off the arch and landed gracefully on the pavement in her heels as though it had been a two foot hop, and not a twenty-five foot drop.

[bunny_doll]

The light made Ni squint, as much from the sudden burst of corrupted magic as the light itself. It was similar but not the same to what he weilded, he wondered how much it could mimic the sutra? And how powerful she must be to use that power without a sutra? Maybe she had something like it or there were much more dangerous things here than where he came from.

He felt a sudden chill. The idea was exciting.

"Did I say something out of turn, miss kitty?"

[astronema]

"Hardly," Astronema was utterly unconcerned, one hand lifting to play with her locket again. She strolled toward him and his interesting artifact, amused at the difference in height. In her heels, she was over six feet tall. He... was not.

Apparently she wasn't intimidated by his jokes, either, because she reached to lift one end of the sutra in her other hand, curious. If he touched something she didn't appreciate, perhaps he'd pull back a bloody stump.

[bunny_doll]

Ah, no, he couldn't have that. Ni's hand shot out to grip her wrist, or hand, considering the bracer, painfully tight. No matter the flavor of Sanzo priest, none of them liked their sutras being pawed at by a stranger.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, kitty cat, that's delicate." He still sounded amused but his voice was lower, a faint edge to it. "If you're looking for something to boost that little light show of your's, I'm afraid it won't do."

[astronema]

"Ohh? I thought it was nothing special," Astronema's response to his grip on her wrist and hand was another of her brilliant smiles. If it hurt, it certainly didn't show. Not so much as a twitch to be found. The material covering her skin looked like vinyl, but it felt... odd. There was power there, too. Dormant. Waiting.

"Oh, is that what you're worried about? I don't want the silly thing," she scoffed, and her free hand dropped her locket. Her hand moved, attempting to place one gloved finger under his chin and tip his head up. "I'm just curious about it. So few things here are so charmingly dark... it's all light and candy and rainbows in this dreadful place. Sometimes literally. Gross."

[bunny_doll]

"How dreadful!" Ni's tone snapped right back to his playfulness of before. He dropped his hand and even looked up, like she wanted, though he didn't let her touch him to do it. He tilted his head to avoid her. Not stepping out of the way, but still a clear 'no'.

"It can be awful lonely in the dark with all that nonsense around, can't it?" Not that he knew or cared what it felt like to be lonely. No one was really worth his time.

[astronema]

"I don't get lonely," Astronema rolled her eyes, and returned her hand to her locket as though she hadn't made the motion to tip his head up at all. She rather loomed a bit, standing quite close. Utterly unworried. The hand he'd released lingered where it was, remaining in the air halfway to the sutra, her fingers flexing a little. "I get bored. So," she smiled again, though this time it didn't involve the flash of pearly white teeth. "Since we've established that's not 'nothing special', what is it?"

[bunny_doll]

"That's quite the question," Ni said with a smile and no intention of answering said question. "Another, just as pressing, is what are you? Mmm, that was polite, who are you?"

The looming was getting tiring very fast. Did she do anything interesting with all that power or just show off?

[astronema]

"But why's it so dark? Who infused it? It just looks like paper with gibberish on it," Astronema let her hand keep lingering in the air, but she moved to walk around Ni, circling. "Or... a language. Hm... it looks... Earth-ish. Are you from Earth? That would explain a few things."