Mission 69: The Sadist, The Psycho and The Bounty (John/Rag)

[Long John]

Cain was at the center of Norma Town, sitting on a snow covered bench with his longcoat wrapped around him and buttoned up tight due to the pouring snow. There was no smile or smirk on his face like usual, but instead solemn annoyance. It's amazing at how wrong this trip has gone..., he couldn't help but think.

He had charted a ship so that he could get back to Mock Town, and get revenge on all the people who took everything away from him, and as he thought of it memories of pirates kicking him out of his own house after they drove his parents to suicide flashed in his mind. Most people couldn't remember things that happened when they were two, but his memories were both complete and vivid. But instead I'm stuck here... , he didn't even bother thinking it as he mumbled to himself. The ship he had used was supposed to have an Eternal Pose to reach Mock Town, but obviously that wasn't true, and he wound up here at the sole town on the entire island. And he couldn't use any other ships to get off the island as they were all traversing deeper into the Grand Line, something he definitly had no interest in doing. So he had to wait for the ship he came in on to finish it's business, and then they'd use another Eternal Pose so he could go back.

The worst part about it though was it felt like this island was just an insult to injury, as it was the opposite of Mock Town in every way. Mock Town was a spring island, this place was a winter one. Mock Town had no marine presence, here he was sitting next to a marine base. The fishmen in Mock Town were treated like trash, here them and the humans got along great. In fact they got along unnaturally well, as Cain realized that he had never seen a place where fishmen were treated so...humanly. He couldn't help but feel there was something else too but he wasn't seeing it at the moment.

He started to get up from the bench and realized he was shivering, having not noticed it when he was lost in his thoughts.It was freezing, and all he wanted was to be off this weird island. He started walking away to find someplace to sleep when he noticed it. Hanging on the wall of the marine base was a bounty poster. A starfish fishman with a bounty of 20 million beri. Small for the Grand Line, but a bounty's a bounty. He smirked as he looked at the poster, Looks like there might be something to do after all...

[Ragnarok]

Purple hues stared in bewilderment at the foreign land before her, blanketed with powdery white layers that piled on as it continued to snow. Long ebony locks billowed out behind her in the wind, the bands that held them up tucked away in her pockets for safekeeping. While she usually preferred having her hair up, she hadn't exactly been prepared for the drastic change in weather. Or location. In fact, she hadn't even planned to journey so far out into the seas. Not yet, at least.

Ragnarok sighed, a puff of fog escaping with the warm breath she let out. "How'd I even get here?" she was unsure of whether to laugh at her current predicament or worry. It was amusing, honestly. She had a gist of how she'd gotten all the way to... Orichal Hollow, if she had heard it right, but she'd rather her version be far from real. It wasn't everyday a Blank got absolutely smashed and shambled her way into a cargo ship, much less sleep in it for two days straight without waking or being discovered. Certainly wasn't something to be proud of, either. Whether it was a newfound talent or incredible misfortune, she had no particular desire to know.

To her utter dismay, the next ship that wasn't headed for the grand line was not arriving anytime soon. What was even more troubling, was the weather. Being able to tolerate the cold did not mean that she didn't feel chilly, especially in her current attire. Her next hour in Orichal involved a hurried search for insulated boots and a coat, which took nearly half of what little Beri she currently had. That left her with just enough for either an inn or two to three meals, which she doubted would last her till the appropriate ship arrived.

She spent the hour after that sulking and trying to think of a way out. Her salvation came in the form of a paper-cut, graciously bestowed by the bounty that slapped her right in the mug. Whistling, her eyes lit up with the passionate flame that her grandfather was all too familiar with. "20 million Beri for an echinoderm? Must be my lucky day!"

[Long John]

While technically Cain's niche was tracking, he was more than capable of gathering information. But instead of approaching like a stereotypical bounty hunter, with a mix of intimidation and charm, his approach was more sly with a semblance to how a detective would do things. He slowly walked past areas with large groups of people, hoping to overhear something about a bounty or marines. Except no one was talking about it. In fact, the conversations were either extremely dull or nonexistent, and he could feel the stares as he passed by each group. Either the town had a very deep distrust of outsiders, or something had given him away.

While he thought it was impossible, it was actually starting to get colder, and the falling snow went from a gentle yet steady pace, to a harsh flurry. He could feel his wavy blonde hair start to get matted down, and flatten across his head. Other than his longcoat and boots, he didn't really have on any winter attire, his pants resembling pajama bottoms more than anything else. Everyone around started to head inside, wishing to avoid the passing storm, and shivering all the way he followed them back to the heart of the town. The snow on the ground was now reaching near ankle levels, and his walk started to become more of a trudge. After a grueling ten minute walk that managed to feel like an hour long one, he found himself back where he had started. The snow on the ground was even higher now, and while it felt like the flurry had gotten weaker, it was still coming down hard. And that's when he saw a bar.

He entered and quickly shut the door, feeling a nice warmth cover him almost immediately. By now the bottoms of his 'pants' were wet, the snow having managed to go over his boots, and his hair was now drenched and flat to such a degree that he had to move his bangs out of his eyes. He sat down at an empty table and when a server came by asked for some hot cider. No one in their right mind would serve him alcohol, and he wasn't actually interested in trying any anyways.  The bar wasn't large or fancy, but it was the only one in town so it was packed with people. And the easiest people to get information from were drunk people. He gave another arrogant smirk as he sipped the just arrived cider, waiting for someone to mention something.

[Ragnarok]

'So I'm looking for a starfish... Should I look by the coast or something?' While Ragnarok was a martial arts genius and a respected fighter in the family, she was hardly an all-rounded individual. Whilst strong physically and mentally, it was safe to say that she lacked quite a bit in terms of smarts. Being incredibly sharp and meticulous did not mean one was intelligent, as proven by her currently ongoing internal debate. The coast was a good place to start, if she were looking for an actual starfish, but this was a fishman. Judging from how many she'd passed by or spotted since her arrival in Orichal, it was likely that fishman didn't actually live in water like their marine counterparts. Not all of them, at least.

She could start by asking, couldn't she? The townspeople seemed... Reasonably guarded. Of course they were. Here was a foreigner in their own backyard, and they could've had unpleasant past experiences with outsiders. A majority of them, even, seemed more at ease with the few fishmen that lingered about than they did with her. Still, she was confident that they would open up if she seemed humble enough. Ragnarok sneered, kicking at a stone that had been nearly engulfed by the piling snow. 'Yeah right, like its that easy. Sides, who'd ever heard of humble lil' me?' No one, obviously, and that was hardly going to change overnight. People didn't change that easily, and she was most certainly not going to lower her head to someone over something so trivial. No matter. She would find her target on her own grounds. It might not seem like it, but she was bloody brilliant when it came down to making someone talk.

The snowfall increased dramatically over the next few minutes, eventually developing into a full snowstorm and soon enough even Ragna found herself retreating into a bar to seek shelter from the cold and wet. The dark-haired female shook snow out of her hair, though it hardly amounted to anything considering how soggy it had gotten. Her bangs stuck to her forehead messily, and she made sure to see to it before further retreating to a corner of the bar, where she got herself a warm glass of hot cocoa. No way was she drinking herself into a stupor, not until she was sure she wouldn't waltz onto a ship again.

Shortly after, she tucked the bounty into her coat pocket and began the vexatious task of socializing. If she was going to get even an utter of information on humanoid starfish - namely Aster Zoa - she would have to convince the folks of Orichal that she was one of theirs.

[Long John]

Even though there were tons of drunk people, all the conversations he was coming across were mundane, focusing on family, work, and other average things. It was like no one was even aware there was a bounty posted. There were no marines in the bar, and he realized he hasn't seen one yet. While they may have a presence, it seems it's not a particularly large one. Cain got up and tried listen other conversations that were farther away, going to the bar stand, but it was all the same with one fishman lamenting how his wife would be mad that the place he hid from the storm was a bar, and another fishman went on about how his child daughter was adorable and had multiple pictures to prove it.

Right when Cain was about to give up on the drunks, someone else entered the bar. She was young, late teens, and had black hair though it was impossible to tell how it was worn as it was sticking her head soaking wet. It reflexively made him touch his hair, which was still damp, but starting to regain it's waviness. He watched her go too the far corner, and saw the bounty poster in her hands. At first he showed some surprise in his eyes, however managed to regain control and go back to a neutral expression. And then she got up and sat at the nearest table, though he couldn't hear about what.

Cain realized that where he was, he would be in the immediate path of her questioning, and went back to his table at the other end. He looked around at people again and slowly realized something. With the girl entering, it gave a clear contrast against the other human women. All of them were near or above middle aged, at least in their thirties. And other than the ship workers he recognized, there were no human men. And slowly he started to realize, that while the fishman had been talking about his daughter he hadn't seen a child yet either, fishmen or otherwise.

Cain had no idea what was going on on the island or what all this stuff meant, and before he could he heard the name Aster Zoa mentioned. He snapped to attention, looking around for who said the name of the bounty. He found his eyes once again watching the new girl, but his mind was stuck wondering just how weird this island was.

[Ragnarok]

Ragnarok's current company was rather much like herself. Rowdy - obnoxiously so - and full of crude jokes. They were friendlier than the common folk after she'd gotten them to open up a little, but it was hard not to notice how guarded they still were with her. They spoke, but with careful consideration, never letting on more than needed. They were quite smart with their answers too, and it was terribly difficult to get anything out of them. Those who saw less of a threat in her willingly shared little bits and pieces of their daily lives, a few bringing up topics on their own children even. She listened half-heartedly, her mind already wandering about, eyes flickering around now and then in search of someone more vulnerable.

Her gaze landed on one such example, taking the form of a young boy whom she had not failed to notice scoot away moments within her arrival. Normal kids weren't as uptight or suspicious as adults were, right? She turned to look at him again, curiously studying the small blonde. He was awfully small, for a kid who was somehow setting off bells in her head. Or guts, in her case. With the knowledge that her intuition was more than often incredibly accurate, and that thinking things out completely just wasn't her forte, she excused herself from her public-nuisance of a group and made her way over to his table. Her mug of hot chocolate had long been emptied, and she did not want to get a refill in case she needed the Beri. Her hands fumbled around the large pockets of her trousers, until they found her pouch of sweets and produced a lollipop. Sitting herself down, she set both legs on the ground, opened in a remarkably unladylike manner as she propped herself on the table with her elbows.

The lollipop, sealed in plastic, was offered to the blonde with a big smile albeit reluctantly. That was her last one, after all. "Awful day, ain't it? Want one?"

[Long John]

Jace watched the girl as she mingled with the masses, acclimating herself with them almost immediately. However, it soon became clear that no one was giving her whatever it was she was looking for, her eyes soon becoming bored and wandering while she kept up a smile accompanied by rather uniform head nods. He watched her glassy eyes scan the room and then come to stop, on him actually. Instead of trying to avoid eye contact, he just smirked at her before turning to his cider and taking another long sip. He looked outside, and while it had definitely started to die down, it still wasn't ready to be traversed yet.

He then heard a chair next to him being pulled out and when he turned around he saw the girl sit down in front from him, with her legs sprawled wide open on the chair. While thankfully she was wearing pants and not a dress, it still wasn't particularly anything he wanted to see and couldn't stop his eye from twitching in response. He then eyes a lollipop that she was offering him. "Awful day ain't it? Want one? Normally he wouldn't take anything from a stranger, however he had a very strong sweet tooth and before he could stop himself found himself taking the lollipop, tearing off the wrapper and tossing it in his mouth. As he wasn't a shark fishman, he didn't have any razor sharp fangs to crush it with, and so he was resigned to simply sucking on it normally.

He then proceeded to give the girl a rather upbeat smile, Thanks! Though I'm curious, why me? He didn't know much about the girl, but he knew for certain that he definitely didn't trust her. Especially since she was after the same bounty. He shifted in his chair, slouching a bit, and in the process the bounty poster that was in his longcoat's pocket fell out, managing to gently glide to the floor, right next to the girls foot. His face lost the cheerful look as he eyed it, his eyes going from wide eyed to half closed and somber and his grin becoming a grave line.

[Ragnarok]

Ragnarok gave a little cough to hide the snort she made unwillingly, upon seeing the boy's irritation at the way she sat. Startling amethyst hues looked over to the entrance, surveying the area around it for a short moment. As the intensity of the snowstorm began decreasing ever so slightly, a handful of the more courageous and hardy of patrons decided to abandon the tavern in favor of getting home before the weather worsened again, while others shuffled around tables to continue with their merrymaking. A straggler or two came stumbling in every now and then, but eventually the bells on the door signaled only the leaving of another patron.

The Taekwando practitioner watched impassively as the blonde child indulged in the last of her reserve of lollipops. While it did feel as though she had died a little on the inside, she had far more pressing matters to be concerned about. A little sacrifice never hurt. Much. "Ah, I do wonder why you as well. Maybe I was feeling lonely?" she drawled, slapping at an all too eager arm that neared her waist, sharply turning her head to shoot the owner a menacing glare that all but showed her lack of interest in him, and promised a whole lot of pain should he go any further. He backed off quickly.

She returned to the conversation at present with an alarmingly quick change in mood, smiling once more. "Or perhaps we were fated to meet and discuss our love of sweets?" she chuckled. Amidst her mild teasing (mild in her case - she really was trying her best) and brief scuffle with the 'guy-who-doesn't-want-to-keep-his-hand', she had failed to notice that the change in the boy's expressions and mood was due to an err of his, and not her presence. It was only when she realized he was staring at something on the ground that she did too, and finally spotted the all too familiar slip of weathered paper. "... Heh. Maybe it's just that." she smiled, eyes resembling mere slits as the entire tavern quietened down dramatically. One could almost hear a pin drop.

How very odd, she thought.

[Long John]

For what felt like hours Cain couldn't help but stare at the paper while waiting, hoping she wouldn't notice. Of course his hopes went unanswered. She made a quip at the predicament and then waited, obviously wanting too see what he'd do. At first he just kept staring at the paper, not making a sound. But eventually he just chuckled and looked back up at the girl. His still wasn't wide eyed anymore, though instead of it being from seriousness like last time, this time it was more smug. He also had a half smile, which was somewhat undermined by the lollipop in his mouth. Heh...Probably..

He glanced around, the rest of the bar continuing as if nothing were happening, apparently not reading the obvious tension at the table. Even the bartender, whom despite his vehement rejection was still orbiting the table, didn't seem to notice. Luckily no one new was coming in anymore, meaning the only people he had to worry about were inside the tavern. He made a quill in his hand while it was under the table, creating it in his padding before using his fingers to pull it out. It was still quiet, and he could swear he could hear the 'schlick' sound it made as he ripped it out of his hand. He could feel a small amount of blood drip down his hand, and saw a few droplets fly past the table onto the floor almost near the girl out of the corner of his eye. Luckily they were so small and inobvious he didn't think she'd seen them. And while it felt like they'd made a cannon sound upon landing, he knew it was his imagination.

It really is a small world isn't it... He still had a cocky half smile while he conversed. Then it all happened at once. He crunched down on his lollipop and in one fluid motion he pulled his arm back from under the table and threw the quill at her. At the same time though the owner, having regained his courage, was back at the table. He apparently had gone for a second try at the girls chest just as Cain threw the quill, as it embedded itself in his hand, piercing it halfway. Cain had a surprised look on his face as the man dropped screaming in pain and clutching his hand, which only intensified as the venom started coursing through. The patrons were all staring shocked at the table, before most of them ran out the door. Cain still had a surprised look on his face, before eventually once again smiling with a chuckle. Well...That was lucky.

[Ragnarok]

While the fox-like smile never left her face, Ragnarok heightened her guard the moment she noticed the boy glancing around. Something was definitely fishy. 'No pun intended,' she thought, biting her lip to prevent the laughter bubbling in her to escape. Half the bar was filled with fishmen - what part of that wasn't fishy?

Horrendous puns aside, there was more to the kid than he was showing. Never mind that he looked like he was barely 9, the look in his eyes was much like hers when she was somewhere around his supposed age group. He just hid it a little better, but it took a psycho to recognize one. Or at least a potential one. She chuckled, a hand moving to intercept and possibly rip the arm off the owner, who'd apparently begun approaching her chest with renewed courage. Clearly, someone didn't understand her clearly enough. Perhaps a more violent reminder would be much more convincing. Her killing intent spiked. "Kid, I can tell we're going to be best friends!" her grin faltered slightly after seeing small splatters of what she instinctively recognized as blood on the floor that, within the next few moments, was joined by the owner. Almost instantly, the air around would seem many times lighter than it had been before, despite the girl having no particular powers that allowed her such an ability.

A quill stuck out of his hand, which was now swollen and purple, and she looked to the culprit. Surprise, surprise, it was the little blonde brat. So perhaps fishy was indeed, the most accurate description, but she was grateful for his highly suspicious and at the same time highly appreciated intervention. Sweet kid. Although, the thought of a half-fishman hunting one of his own was perplexing, but she supposed that if humans did the same by murdering and betraying their own race, then there should be no reason that other races couldn't do the same.

"Damn right he is. I would've powdered his entire arm if you hadn't stepped in, smart lad. Now-"

The door to the bar was flung open, and a gathering of men, fish and human, stormed in. One rushed over to tend to the bar owner, who was moaning in pain and clawing at his hand. She stared at the sudden influx of people (again), gears turning in her head before she visibly lit up. "Kid, I'd like to talk more after this. Just... Five, no, no ten, minutes. I'll be quick, promise. Then we can talk about that Aster Zoa, whom I assume we both have common interest in."

[Long John]

Cain just blinked at first with a befuddled look on his face. He had completely believed that'd he'd just given up the element of surprise in the most obvious way possible due to he could only describe as an intervention from the heavens themselves, but instead she was somehow giving him the benefit of doubt, thinking he'd intervened on her behalf. Or the owner's behalf, as while she'd been joking there's definitely truth to what she'd said about saving him. He saw her eyes as the owner continued his ill advised-bordering suicidal attempts at a fondle. She had been going to break his arm, or something even worse. At least in this case the poison wouldn't kill him. Probably. And then there was how she'd looked at him. It had been a look of recognition, even though he's never met her before. She was definitely strange. And dangerous. This raven haired girl, while seemingly childish, definitely had killing intent in her. It was strangely unnerving, though he wasn't sure why. He regained his composure though, and gave a cocky grin again. My pleasure. It's always nice to get bonus points. His habit of using game terms was showing itself once more.

Right when the girl was about to get down to business they were interrupted by a group of people crashing into the tavern. One of the humans rushed over to the owner, whom beside the occasional moan, was surprisingly quiet. Cain was pretty sure he'd near screamed himself to unconscious from lack of air. Everyone else seemed to be looking for the culprit. Which seeing as how the owner was right next to them wouldn't take very long at all. Their only saving grace was that Cain looked completely human unless he chose otherwise. The girl then suggested they talk. Cain gave a genuine smile, without his usual smarminess. Alright. We should probably do it outside though. It's starting to get crowded.

He had not wanted to fight this many people, especially fishmen. He originally planned to just run out after stabbing the girl. But that obviously didn't work out. So he had no other choice. He stood up still smiling at the girl. It seemed like the entire bar turned to face him. Several of the men who'd entered started to walk towards him when he kicked their table directly at them. It hit with a crash, breaking apart as it sent them flying into the main group. Cain then darted for the door, wondering if the girl could keep up.

[Ragnarok]

A knowing smirk graced her lips at the boy's sudden use of game terms. Surely, the blonde was a fan of games as well.

"Sure," she answered, unable to hide her glee as more people began to fill the tavern. Excellent timing, too, considering she had been wanting to practice with her daggers a little. Reaching to the blades strapped over her leggings, hidden by the white trousers she constantly wore, she hesitated upon realizing that they were technically civilians. Killing them would mean trouble with the marines, and while that was exciting, she'd rather enjoy her freedom a little more. She withdrew her hands and opted to discard her coat. The boots remained - they were her only bulwark against frostbite.

Flexing her legs, she gave a brief apprehensive look to her boots. Comfortable as they were, she was not used to fighting with shoes. She barely remembered the last time she did. "Sure, catch ya' outside."

With that, she launched herself into the fray, and truly started her hunt for Aster. She dove at the first man, leg unfolding into a roundhouse kick that left him gasping for air on the ground.

"Game on, kid!"

[Long John]

Cain was already halfway to the door, the table having created the perfect escape route, before everyone managed gather their wits and tried to cut him off. Normally, Cain would use his quills to clear his way, but it occurred to him killing these guys might create more trouble than its worth. Apparently the girl also was having the same idea as when he looked back to check on her progress, she had looked like she was reaching for something before deciding otherwise. From what little he knew of her, he had a feeling that whatever she had been reaching for weren't meant for knocking people out. Looking back towards his own predicament, he saw several Fishman blocking his path. He smirked and rushed them.

Unfortunately, Cain didn't have much skill or technique in fighting, having always depended on his Fishman strength and quills to win fights, and while he might outclass most normal humans he was still just a half-fishman and a child, and a full blooded adult Fishman was going to be stronger. He soon figured this out as before his strike could connect one of the Fishman blocking his path punched him hard in the face, sending him flying into the counter. His entire cheek sore, he touched it gingerly, and felt some blood on his fingertips. He scowled at the offending Fishman, and in a rage once again rushed him. This time though he jumped at the last second, and slammed the fishman's head into the wall by the door. Full Fishman or not, that was enough to knock them out. He then threw a quill into the Fishman next to him, having decided he stopped caring about how much he hurt them. While they might be stronger than Cain, they were still just regular civilians, and the extreme pain caused by his quills was enough to stop them in their tracks and send them to the ground screaming.

The way now clear Cain rushed out and kept running till he reached a safe distance and turned around to wait for the girl, whom should be coming any moment now. He created a quill in his hand as he put his hands behind his back. This time he didn't plan on missing.

[Ragnarok]

The tavern was an absolute mess; overturned tables, shattered glass and broken chairs lay scattered about as Ragnarok slowly and painfully picked off one attacker after another. Colliding with the counter was enough to distract her briefly, and she sneered at the man responsible for hitting the blonde brat. "We hitting kids now? Is that it?" she mocked in her usual playful tone, but if one was sharp enough, they could pick out the hesitation in her eyes.

The brief moment of distraction (and sass) earned her a fist to the abdomen, and she let out a wheezing laugh. How silly of her, to look away mid-fight, she thought, as another fishman from behind knocked her flat onto the ground. She barely avoided getting trampled over with a nicely timed roll, kicking herself back onto her feet and grabbing the nearest chair she could find, using it as a shield and means of cutting open a path towards the exit.

Indignant yelps and grunts resounded as she swatted men left and right, until someone was smart enough to grab the hair and rip it out of her grip. She directed a kick to his groin and shoved her way past him, dropping to the ground and sliding across wooden floors covered in muddy snow and water and out the door. She made sure to grab a leg in each hand as she slid out, tripping two of many angered islanders and granting herself some time to catch her breath as the others tripped over her and a formed a small human pile.

She wasted no time in climbing to her feet, silently wishing she'd remembered to leave with the coat instead of having left herself to freeze out in the open. She hurried over to the blonde brat, smirking. "Nice to see you-" sneeze "made it out-" sneeze "-in one piece! Now c'mon, let's find someplace safer. Preferably warmer too." she sniffed, smacking him on the back with a little more force than she had intended to.

[Long John]

Cain zipped up his jacket with his free hand as he stood outside waiting for the girl to finish up. Except it looked like he might not have too as soon she was surrounded by the patrons, and keeled over with a punch to the back. He cocked his head in semi-amusement as he watched the crowd slowly move in on her, making sure to be cautious. Luckily this worked out well for him as not only did he not have to deal with her himself, but the fishman were so preoccupied with her that they'd seem to have forgotten him, which he was more than OK with. In truth he didn't inherently have anything against teamwork, even though he didn't consider teammates friends, or even acquaintances. In fact he was even willing to share the prize if he worked with people as long as there was enough. It was when he believed people had stopped being useful, or their death gives you an advantage, that he decided it was easier just to kill them. Or at least this was what he decided to do if he ever worked with a team, as this was the first time he'd worked with someone. In fact, it was his first bounty period.

He felt justified in his attempts to kill the girl though as she was obviously so weak she couldn't even win a simple tavern fight. He conveniently forgot how it was a fishman tavern, and how even being half blooded made him superior to most people in his mind. And then, once again, she surprised him. She grabbed a chair, and started using it as a club, beating people left and right, slowly carving a path to the door. Even when she ended up being disarmed, or chaired in this case, she just kicked the man so hard he flew at least a foot in the air. Next she slid outside, tripping two other fishman over the exit and causing a makeshift blockade. Cain was rather surprised at the development, and rested his head in his free hand with a bemused look on his face. "Huh. You made it." There wasn't shock in his voice, nor any amicability or even a hint of mocking. It was just a matter of fact statement with a hint of surprise, as if he had just wintnessed a casual yet interesting event instead of the giant beatdown she gave out.

That didn't change his mind on killing her though, and he started to tense his arm as she approached. She greeted him with a sneeze, before imploring him to follow. And then she slapped him on the back. But instead of a casual slap, it was hard. Very hard. He stumbled forward and squeezed his fist reflexively, actually snapping the quill in two, one piece falling in the snow, the other jamming itself in his hand. He caught himself, but was now very confused. Was it an accident, payback for not helping her, or did she know more than she was letting on? All these things raced through his head, and while his face was appropriate for someone who was simply surprised at how hard the greeting was, he was starting to get on edge. Twice he had been ready to attack, and twice she not only foiled them, but didn't even mention anything. He waited for her to turn around before pulling his hand out. The quill wasn't deep, and he was naturally immune to his own poison. He still couldn't help but let out a loud hiss as he pulled it out, and his hand started bleeding onto the pristine white snow that still surrounded them. He still wasn't sure who this girl was, but hesitated making a third attempt, and instead simply decided to play along. Sure, whatever. His voice was casual, not hinting at the second foiled attempt on her life.