15[21:12] "So like. You're the V'Neef Piu, right?" 15[21:13] The conversation begins abruptly over breakfast in the mess. Bread, tea, and salted meat. Ito Pan is speaking, while his brother looks on with interest, cheeks bulging so impractically with food he couldn't even talk with his mouth full if he wanted to. 15[21:15] It's the first full day of the voyage of Daana'd's Defiance. The ship is swift and the winds favorable; the looming sight of the Imperial Mountain behind them is all that's visible of the Isle this misty morning. [21:15] 4She's still swallowing her own big bite -- she prefers the salted meat to the fresh seafood, is that weird? That's weird -- when the question comes floating over, but she smiles as she gulps it down. "Thaaat's me." 15[21:19] Ito Pan: "Winner of the Five Day Fight... damn. Itoya wouldn't shut up about what a badass you were." Piu remembers the name, for two reasons. Cathak Itoya was one of the last contestants eliminated, while her crechemate, Cathak Bo Lin, was the first target Piu, ah, eliminated. [21:19] 14Mmmmmm. [21:24] 4Her face remains pleasant, and she smiles at the memory of Itoya. "Aw yeah, Itoya. Mantis-style with nunchucks. Hard nut to crack, but get one of them away from her and you can do it. Bad luck for her, I'm kinda a fan of grapplefuck." 15[21:27] Ito Jun starts. "Grapplewhat?" [21:28] 4She giggles. "Not what you're thinking. Well. Kinda what you're thinking. It just LOOKS like what you're thinking. Sweaty people on the ground...rolling around..." [21:28] "Hurting each other badly." 15[21:28] Caxi sits at the far end of the table, nursing her tea. She smiles into her cup at this. [21:29] "I don't practice Mantis -- never had time for a formal teacher -- but I keep up with the scene." [21:29] "If not for that, I think she mighta had me!" [21:29] 14She didn't. 15[21:30] Ito Pan: "So I guess you're like... the realest fighter on the ship, huh." [21:31] 6Excuse me. [21:31] 4She stuffs some more food in her mouth. "Nah. It's probably Tepet Zhangyu. But thanks for saying so!" [21:31] 6Thank you. [21:31] 4An only-slightly faked start. "Wait, you guys fought yesterday, huh?" 15[21:32] Ito Jun: "He's not so tough. He couldn't even land a hit on me. Not like that giant who just booted you into the drink, eh Pan?" 15[21:32] "I didn't see you doing much to him either," grumbles Ito Pan. [21:33] 4Almost chirping: "Oh, he's incredibly tough! He was just going easy on you, on account of us getting in trouble if we kill each other." [21:34] "He could beat me too, I bet! But I wanna make him work for it at least." 15[21:36] Ito Pan: "We were supposed to be at the Fight. Had our bunks booked and everything. Couldn't go though." 15[21:36] Ito Jun: "'Disciplinary problems.'" [21:36] 4Mmmmm. "Bad boys, huh?" 15[21:37] Ito Pan: "Heh." 15[21:37] Ito Jun: "You could say that." [21:38] 4She's leaning forward with her chin on her hand now, not quite suggestively, but not NOT suggestively. [21:38] "How do you fight?" 15[21:40] Ito Pan: "We're Fire Dragons. Our whole line is." [21:40] "!! I'm fire, too!" 15[21:40] Ito Jun: "We know the hand-to-hand katas, but it's all about the swordplay." [21:40] 4Okay, now the smile gets a little more suggestive. 15[21:41] Ito Pan: "Hell yeah. Fire's the best. Everyone knows that." 15[21:41] Ito Jun: "All the Realm's great heroes are Fire." 15[21:41] Ito Pan: "The Empress is Fire!" [21:42] 4Well, that's going a bit far. But self-confidence and stupidity are two very attractive qualities in a man. 15[21:42] That last point is actually somewhat uncertain; people variously hold that the Scarlet Empress is either a Fire or an Earth Aspect. It's been centuries since anyone's seen her anima, so no one really remembers anymore. 15[21:43] Fire houses tend to claim one thing, Earth houses another. [21:43] 14Someone in Iselsi remembers. But secrets are kept with the dead. 15[21:45] Ito Jun: "So did you meet any Falcon stylists at the Fight?" 15[21:46] Ito Pan: "I love that flippy shit." [21:47] 4She straightens a bit, leans back. "It's not entirely my thing, but I can appreciate it. And yeah! They were at their flippiest. For all the good it did them against me." 15[21:48] Ito Pan: "How'd you take em down?" [21:53] "Ragara Xan was the easy one -- young kid, too enthusiastic, decided to run-in on a knockdown match between me and some outcaste brawler. The outcaste caught her out of the air and powerbombed her on her back -- and I broke his knee from behind. She was trapped under him. When it was clear she couldn't get out and my foot was on her throat, she yield. Cute, though, and she got out [21:53] without getting hurt. She'll be big next year. [21:54] "Sesus Totara was a beast. He liked to strike without warning, wearing these big iron boots -- huge dropkicks out of nowhere. Ended conversations real fast. So I put on my thinking cap for that one, pretended my leg was broke, and limped into...a thin, long, confined cave tunnel." [21:55] 4She grins. "And just beat the shit out of him. Nowhere to jump now, punk." [21:55] "Broke his arm clean to end it. He'll be on the mend and right as rain soon." 15[21:55] Ito Jun: "Badass." 15[21:56] Ito Pan: "Brains, beauty, and skill." [21:56] 4Piu: "Flatterer." [21:56] "I only got six confirmed knockouts, but that was still enough to lead the field at the end of the Fight. Especially once they all started gunning for me." [21:57] "Ended up mostly running into each other." [21:57] 4The Fight record is eleven. She and To agreed it would be unwise to challenge the record, just for prudence and circumspection... [21:58] 14...But with the five others, she tied. 15[22:01] Ito Jun pushes his plate forward. "So you're probably like, a real operator, then, right?" 15[22:01] Ito Pan: "Checking the sightlines, knowing all the exits, having a plan to take down everyone you meet." [22:02] 4She giggles. "Nah, that's a lot. It just comes natural. I'm just kind of a prodigy, I guess." 15[22:04] Ito Pan: "Right, yeah, makes sense. That's how it is with us, too." 15[22:04] Ito Jun: "Fighting by feel." 15[22:04] Ito Pan: "Get right in there and just conflict." [22:05] 4She nods maybe a bit too emphatically; boys like that. "Oh, I totally agree." [22:08] 4She stands and stretches. "If you'll excuse me, boys, it's time for morning exercises...maybe a bit of light sparring..." [22:08] "...Unless you'd like to join?" [22:09] 4It's a tactical stretch. 15[22:11] Ito Pan almost chokes on his water, but only almost. Ito Jun covers better, standing and stretching. He says, "Yeah, I'm about done here too. Let's go." 15[22:11] Ito Pan stands too. "Sounds good," he says, trying to sound casual. [22:11] 4Hee. 15[22:13] Above, the morning fog has mostly cleared; the bay and its ships are visible in the far eastern distance. Ratel is on deck, directing sailors. That big flame piece hangs at her hip, occasionally visible past her long blue coat. 15[22:15] She nods at Piu and frowns sternly at the twins. [22:15] 4Piu will bow to her if that's what's customary when you come on deck in front of a senior officer. Is there an open place to stretch out and spar? 15[22:16] Yeah, most of the topdeck is free and clear. The sailors are all up in the rigging, climbing and working, muscles visibly moving beneath their clothes. 15[22:16] Salim is up here, too; looks like he's meditating. [22:16] 4... [22:17] 4Piu slips out of her robe; her work out garments are underneath, and honestly, they're more decent than the robe would be by itself. A form-fitting glove covering her whole torso and ending in wraps on her upper arms and lower thighs. [22:18] 4Neckline plunges a bit but hey, that's the job. 15[22:18] There's a whistle from somewhere up in the rigging. [22:19] 4She's in the middle of a split when she leans back and looks alllll the way up. Quite a contortion. 15[22:21] Jun and Pan fan out, forming a roughly equilateral triangle with Piu, as they stretch their backs and shoulders. Whichever sailor up above catcalled her is now intent on her work. [22:23] 4Slight smile. Though who knows, maybe they were whistling at one of the boys. Piu works her way through the rest of her stretches. When she's done she rolls onto her back, raises her legs, then curls and flips up onto her hands. Holds this posture for ten seconds. Then down. 15[22:23] Their leg stretches are more elaborate and thorough. They stretch like footracers, or at least runners, Piu realizes. 15[22:24] Another whistle. This one from Ito Pan. "Didn't know you were a gymnast too." [22:25] 4Mildly, but teasingly: "And a dancer." [22:25] "A girl must have her hobbies." 15[22:27] Ito Jun: "We dance too." 15[22:27] Ito Pan: "Our Fire Dragon sifu used to make us train to music." [22:27] "Niiiice." [22:29] 4She kips up to her feet. "I never learned a formal style. I was trained in military martial arts at Pasiap's Stair, then made my own changes based on feel. Weird to learn so much Water technique! But, hee, cool." [22:30] 4It's time to start doing her forms...though... [22:31] "It's time to start doing my forms," 4Piu laments. "But usually I work with a partner..." 15[22:31] Ito Pan: "I'll be your partner." 15[22:31] Ito Jun: "I'll be your partner." [22:32] 4Cheerfully, as if she hadn't engineered this outcome: "I have to do two sets, so you both can be! Thanks!" 15[22:33] Ito Jun and Ito Pan immediately turn to each other. "Fire Water Wood." "Fuck! 2 out of 3." "Fire Water Wood." "Fire Water Wood." "Fuck! 3 out of 5." "Get over it, Jun." 15[22:33] Ito Pan steps forward. "I'll go first." [22:34] 7Cynis Dryas emerges from belowdecks, wearing - a sort of two-part hairpiece made from dark crimson Chiaroscuro glass? And carrying a small hand-drum. She won't use the big ones on deck, that are used to set rowing paces or call the crew to attention -- too confusing. Was she listening in? [22:34] 4She'll slide -- not quite slink -- up. "So the form goes like this..." 15[22:34] She could have been. [22:35] 7As she strides onto the deck she lowers the hairpiece - in fact it's a sort of oversized pair of spectacles - and starts setting a beat in a traditional style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3DC_43fC5A [22:36] 4Oh for the love of-- [22:36] 4Well, we can still do this to that beat. 15[22:40] Ito Pan's there with her, giving her enough space to move, but a little closer than he really needs to be. [22:40] 4Mmmm. And step and move and grip-- [22:42] 4There are some tumbles, and a lot of things that look like griplocks that she slips out of, but when they're done this only somewhat deniably a dance. [22:42] 4And they're much closer. [22:43] 4She lingers there for a second, nose right near his -- then giggles and bounces back. [22:43] "Thanks!" 15[22:44] Ito Pan is sweating a lot more than the exertion would imply. Is he out of shape? Maybe that's it. [22:44] 4We can fix that... 15[22:44] Ito Jun steps forward, clapping his brother on the back. "Take a breather, man. Watch how it's done." [22:44] 4She resumes her position, and holds out her hand... [22:45] 4She's a slight bit more forceful with Jun, but nothing he can't handle. [22:46] 7We've seen this dance. Let's change the beat. Dryas ups the tempo just a bit. 15[22:48] Ito Jun: "Whoo. They don't teach forms like that at the House of Bells." 15[22:48] Ito Pan: "We totally picked the wrong school." [22:49] 4She grins. "And those were just the basic ones." [22:49] "But." [22:49] 4She starts wrapping her fists. "Now one of you has to show me yours." [22:49] 4Helpfully, into the pause: "Your forms." 15[22:53] Ito Pan looks back to Jun: "Fire Water Wood?" 15[22:53] Ito Jun: "No way, you went first last time." 15[22:53] Pan relents. Fair is fair. 15[22:54] Ito Jun steps forward. "So the prime katas of Fire Dragon run like this--" [22:55] 4Piu will move a respectful distance back, unless he needs a partner, which she kinda already knows he doesn't. [22:55] 14This is good; valuable scouting opportunity. [22:59] 4Dragons but she does appreciate green eyes. 15[23:00] Ito Jun demonstrates a few rudimentary stances, leaning this way and that so his abs peek through the bottom of his shirt. When he falls into the core stance, he begins to repeat the first forms, but with more intricate movement and much, much faster. By the time he reaches the final forms, his hands and feet are almost too fast to see. His eyes, though, remain steady and clear, burning 15[23:00] with intensity. Focus is absolute. 15[23:01] When he's done, the air shimmers around him like heat rising from sun-baked stone. [23:02] 4Piu is still smiling, but she's far more serious now, as befits warriors. "Well stroked." [23:02] 4Okay yes, now she's just fucking with him. 15[23:03] Ito Jun coughs like water just went down the wrong pipe, but he recovers quickly. He beams, bows, and steps back. [23:03] 4She pulls her knees up to her chest and looks encouragingly over at Pan. 15[23:05] Ito Pan's forms are smoother and more intense; Piu surmises that he had longer time to rest and also studied the flaws in his brother's form. He might be smarter than he acts... [23:07] 4She feels a little twinge of regret. Really the only way this ends without the two boys incredibly angry at each other is straight out of a filthy lower-shelf ero scroll, and she's not going to go there. [23:07] 4Maybe she can still, ah, balance those beams. [23:10] 4However, it won't be by auctioning herself off to whoever can beat her in combat. That's Threshold behavior, and she wouldn't do it even if V'neef hadn't expressly prohibited it for daughters of the House (don't think Piu didn't notice it was directed at her for throwing a couple exhibition matches to a hunk, but there was NO quid pro quo, they just HAPPENED to go out for drinks [23:10] 4later) [23:10] 14After the mission was accomplished. 15[23:11] "Don't set the sails on fire," calls Ratel down from the stern. "Keep them in line, Piu." [23:12] "Oh, yes ma'am," 4she calls out. [23:12] 4Smiling: "Behave, boys." 15[23:12] Ito Pan: "We'll try." 15[23:12] Ito Pan: "No promises, though." 15[23:13] Ito Jun just grins. 15[23:13] Ito Pan: "So how hard are we going here?" [23:16] 4She's finished wrapping her fists. "You heard the Commodore. We're not to set the ship on fire. No anima banners, at all. Beyond that, we go the knee: when someone takes a knee and puts a hand down, or two knees down, and it's not part of a combat motion, they're out." 15[23:17] Ito Jun: "You looking for a three-way?" 15[23:17] Ito Pan: "Dude!" [23:17] 4She grins. 15[23:18] Ito Jun: "Oh shut up, you know what I meant." [23:18] "Maybe later. For now, let's go one at a time. Who wants me fresh?" 15[23:19] The boys confer quietly. It occurs to Piu that they have likely worked out a system for situations like this. [23:19] 4She resists the urge to roll her eyes. 15[23:19] Finally, Jun says: "I'll go first." [23:20] 4She raises her fists. Her smile has an edge to it now. "Dryas?" [23:20] "Count us in?" [23:26] 7One - two - three-- [23:29] 4They move quickly, but Piu moves first. [23:46] 4When she grabs him this time, she's a lot less gentle, twisting an arm, sweeping a leg, and punching him in the side. The air grows moist around them. 15[23:53] Ito Jun's strong, but Piu's technique is superior. Their bodies heat up as they tangle together on the deck. Jun almost gets a hit in, but Piu blocks just in time. [23:54] 4She slithers his arm up his as she blocks, entangling it without locking a joint. This is a friendly, after all. [23:56] 4Then she twists -- turns -- flips -- SLAMS. 15[23:56] Ito Pan: "Holy shit!" [23:56] 4It's hard to see, but she cradles his head instead of letting it bounce off the deck. [23:56] 4But Ito Jun is down. 15[23:57] Now it's Ratel, watching intently from above, who whistles. [23:57] 4Piu straightens after making sure he's breathing. [23:57] 4Then she turns to Pan and beckons. 15[23:58] Ito Pan peers past Piu to make sure Jun's okay, then steps forward and cracks his neck. [00:06] 4She's first again, feinting with a chop and then three alternative kicks to force him back. 15[00:15] Ito Pan, learning from his brother's caution, comes in fast with a high, hard attack. Piu's driven to the back foot, but Pan gets greedy and overextends. Piu's got an opening. [00:17] 4And he gets a sidekick in the gut which probably staggers him back a bit for his trouble. [00:20] 4Then she flashes across the distance between them and drives her knee all the way up into Pan's shoulder, without leaving her feet. 15[00:21] Pan almost collapses on the spot. Injured, staggering, panting with exertion... he kneels. 15[00:21] "I acknowledge the superior fighter." [00:22] 4The sun silhouettes her for a moment, behind her head. [00:22] 14He probably misses the brief, wild look in her eyes. [00:22] 4Then she laughs, stepping back. [00:22] "You didn't have your swords." [00:23] 4She bows to both Pan and the unconscious Jun. "Thank you for allowing me to test my strength." 15[00:24] Pan looks up at her against the sunlight and his eyes widen, then narrow. The look vanishes as quickly as Piu's does, though a beat later. He stands, slowly, and bows. 15[00:27] The twins are not as identical as they appear, Piu observes. There are subtle differences in personality. Ito Jun is a little more thoughtful, a little more cocky. Ito Pan is a little more blunt, a little more humble. [00:27] "And now," 4she says, unwrapping her hands, and arms, and thighs, "I think I'll take a dip." [00:28] 4In a swift motion she runs to the side of the ship, grabs a docking line, and launches herself overboard while tying it along her waist. 15[00:28] "I'd join you," says Pan, who, despite his injury, probably would. "But I gotta take care of my brother." 15[00:28] "Good spar. See you later." [00:29] "Bye!" 4It never goes taut. She's able to keep pace with the ship -- which in fairness, is at lowest sail for the moment -- until she clambors back up the side. [00:29] 4In a VERY wet, tight one-piece. [00:29] 4She heads back to her cabin, but not in a hurry. [00:30] 14As she passes Chief Petty Officer Samperson's door, she slips a blank, soaked piece of paper in the jamb. He'll know what time she wants to meet when it dries. 15[00:33] His room or hers? [00:34] 14Depends on the logistics. Which one is more insulated from that damnable monk? 15[00:36] Piu's room is less likely to face unwanted intrusion; unlike Caedus, her room has a lock on its door, and is very near Ratel's quarters. It'd be far more suspicious for him to be wandering around there. [00:37] 14How bad are the optics going to be for Caedus's cover? Good natured ribbing from every man on that deck who wanted to fuck her brains out this morning don't count as bad optics, as much as they might make him uncomfortable. 15[00:41] Piu is a Scion of the Blood, and people pretty much expect them to do whatever they want. He wouldn't face any worse scrutiny than the jeers and backslapping she predicts. [00:42] 14Her quarters, then. 15[00:44] Caedus will enter a few minutes after the intended time and close and lock the door behind him. "Bumped into that Cynis girl on the way down. The stoned one, not the greedy one." [00:44] 14Piu narrows her eyes. [01:04] 14Piu: "It wasn't an accident. And she wasn't stoned. Mhallaich na nèamhan. Well, it's not the end of the world that she knows we're fucking." 15[01:05] Caedus: "People were going to find out that much eventually. We'll have to keep sneaking around, of course. We've got our image to protect." [01:05] 4Piu: "Tha i na cuilbheartair. Àrd-amas. Inntleachdail. " [01:05] 14Piu: "Tha i na cuilbheartair. Àrd-amas. Inntleachdail. " 15[01:10] Caedus: "Ceannaichean thràillean. Mucan." [01:11] 14She shrugs. "B ’fheudar dhomh faighinn nas fhaisge na thusa. B ’e sin an obair agam. " 15[01:14] Caedus: "I intend no criticism. You're doing excellent work." [01:16] "Tha mi fhathast duilich. " 14She pauses. "I fought the twins today." 15[01:16] "I heard. The way the crew is talking, you put on quite a show." [01:17] 14She laughs. "Yes. And THEN I beat their asses." 15[01:17] "What do you make of them?" [01:17] "Wolf-whistles from the riggings. House V'neef gets no respect." [01:17] 14She grins. "I'm trying to figure out how to sleep with them without blowing up the entire social dynamic here on the ship." [01:18] "But in all seriousness, they talk too much but they're very serious." [01:18] "Pan without his sword actually made me work." [01:18] "And they were in the worst possible situation: in public, in front of a boss who clearly liked me more than them, coming off a beating, and without their weapons." [01:19] "So if you're asking me if they're serious? They're serious." 15[01:19] Caedus nods, impressed. "They're almost as good at giving off the wrong impression as the Cynis girl, and they don't even intend to." [01:20] 14Slight smile. "Which Cynis girl?" [01:20] "Dryas came up to watch us. Fiddling with that necklace again." 15[01:21] Caedus: "Dryas wears her heart on her sleeve, and her heart's an open purse. Dangle profit in front of her, she'll run wherever you send her." [01:22] 14Piu: "You know better than to underestimate pretty vain girls by now, my dear Samperson." [01:23] 14Piu: "The two mountains of meat..." 15[01:25] Caedus: "I like them. The bigger one especially. He's a little goofy, in a charming way." 15[01:25] "Plus he put the boot to one of the mouthy Cathak boys." [01:26] 14Piu: "He seems nice." 14This is neutral, rather than a compliment. "I prefer Zhangyu for obvious reasons. Let him loose on those boys and it would be a different story." [01:26] "The man is designed only for killing." 15[01:28] Caedus steps forward, grabbing Piu by the hips. "Mmm. No one should be designed only for killing." [01:29] 14Her hands are on his ass immediately. "Youuuuuu are changing the subject. But I'm fine with that." 15[01:30] They're up against each other, but Caedus's voice still has a trace of business to it. "You think you can take him?" [01:30] 14Same: "I might have to cheat." [01:30] "But I'm willing to cheat." [01:30] "So yes." [01:31] 14In demonstration, her necklace flies to her hand -- and then snaps out across the room, extinguishing the lone candle. [01:31] 14She pulls Caedus down into the dark.