the most predictable first intro

[ruatcoelum]

[ This... is not the Tower.

(it's... a hotel?)

(what the hell)

Thomas whirls around in the empty lobby, looking for anyone - particularly someone  she knows - and, when nobody materialises, sets off at a run to search the ground floor of the hotel. Anyone else who happens to be around might catch her in any of the stores or corridors or kitchens downstairs, or in the lobby itself; she circles back there a lot, calling as she goes. ]

Aniki? Michael?

...Kaito?

Comments

[ruatcoelum]

[ She snorts at that. ]

Wouldn't still be here if I couldn't.

[hellkaiserin]

Well.

[Her voice is a bit rough, for a moment, dips a bit deeper.]

I'll keep you in mind.

[She seems to relax, looking around properly for the first time.]

At least there are places to sleep.

[ruatcoelum]

[ ...what the hell was that voice.

(what the hell does 'I'll keep you in mind' mean?)

She blinks a little, at the comment about sleep. ]

...maybe. Haven't looked at the rooms upstairs yet. They might not actually be bedrooms.

[hellkaiserin]

Mm. True.

[Checking that is the first order of business, then. She checks around for a stairwell, and as soon as she finds one she makes a beeline for it.

Follow her?]

[ruatcoelum]

[ She watches Kaiserin go, chews her lip briefly. ]

...

[ (ah, fuck. better to explore more of the place anyway.)

She runs after her. ]

Slow down! Not everyone has legs like telephone poles.

[hellkaiserin]

[That might be insulting to someone else, but she just grins.]

Can't keep up?

[It's a wide, sweeping staircase up to the second floor, where the first of the rooms are: she doesn't slow down as she starts to climb it.]

[ruatcoelum]

[ Leather chick is annoying.

Rolling her eyes, Thomas jumps up to climb up the banister, bypassing the steps entirely.

(hey, when you've got a tail and wings for balance...

what do you mean she didn't have either of those before?) ]

[hellkaiserin]

[She stares for a moment, then...

barks a short laugh, raises an eyebrow.]

What was the point of hiding the eyes, then?

[ruatcoelum]

[ Thomas just snorts, hurtling around the corner and up onto the next flight of stairs. ]

Used to hiding it. Hunter.

But there's nobody around right now that I couldn't take down if I needed to.

[hellkaiserin]

...Is that so.

[She stops on the stairs, watching Thomas, sizing her up.]

[ruatcoelum]

[ Thomas stops too, though in her case she's balanced precariously on the banister. ]

That's so.

Like I said. Hunter. You'd be nothing compared to some of the things I've taken down.

[hellkaiserin]

Well, then.

[She sets down her suitcase, shrugs her coat off her shoulders. nice chest kaiserin]

Prove it to me.

[ruatcoelum]

[ She just raises an eyebrow. ]

That'd be stupid. If there's worse stuff around then we'd both be weaker.

Idiot.

[hellkaiserin]

[For the record, she looks just as unimpressed.

She leans back against the banister.]

Don't challenge someone if you don't want to fight them.

[ruatcoelum]

Wasn't a challenge. It was a statement.

[ She hops a little further up the banister. ]

Are you coming?

[hellkaiserin]

[She picks up her briefcase, raising an eyebrow.]

That statement is a challenge.

[Her posture is relaxed as she shrugs her coat back on, but her knuckles are white on the handle of the briefcase.

She starts walking upstairs again, keeping a sharp eye on the girl.]

[ruatcoelum]

[ Thomas shrugs, continuing up the banister. ]

Whatever. More trained than you. And I've got better weapons.

[hellkaiserin]

How many years?

[This is humiliating. But at least she's not a demon bird.]

[ruatcoelum]

Ten. Started when we were five. Trained specifically to fight.

[hellkaiserin]

Then it's the same.

[Not in content, maybe, but in length.]

Why do you assume I don't have your skill?

[ruatcoelum]

Your weapons are cards.

[ She flicks her tail, speeds up a little to perch at the top of one of the banisters. ]

Even if you weaved spells over a card, it'd be something more flashy than powerful. Cards are useful for magic, but... not combat magic, so much.

You're bigger than me, so more physical strength. But that makes you slower in a fight. And there's more of you to hit.

Plus, you're human.

[hellkaiserin]

Interesting, how you think.

[But she's not smiling anymore. She's scanning over Thomas, taking every step carefully.]

[ruatcoelum]

It's what we get taught. From when we're kids.

[hellkaiserin]

And if the rules change?

[She steps up onto the second floor landing and scans the doors. Looks normal from the outside.]

[ruatcoelum]

[ She blinks, perching on the banister just behind Kaiserin. ]

What do you mean?