Fated Enemies [Laskt]

The symphony of the early morning rolled over the sand like the waves which carried it. Gulls cawed overhead as they searched for their morning meal. The bells of the trains just a short distance back in town clanged rhythmically. The ocean itself almost sang, as if to greet the new day.

Sylvia Brauer had arrived at the sandy shoreline just minutes after the sun, ready to begin her daily regimen. Bereft of her newly given uniform, she stood barefoot in the sand, a white t-shirt already beginning to cling to her skin over the two-piece, green and blue bathing suit she had recently purchased. However, the few pieces of equipment she'd need had not been left, as her leiden hant adorned her right arm, opposite to the quincy's cross around the other wrist. Even the medallion gifted to her by the woman named Ulv hung around her neck.

A longbow as tall as she rest in the grip of her left hand, and arrow after arrow had been fired out over the sea in the time she'd spent on the beach. At first, things had been no different from any other practice session. However, as the minutes had passed, a faint air of excitement and curiosity wafted around the woman. Ulv had said nothing of the medallion's effect on her arrows, save for stopping them from erasing souls, but there was more to the device. With it, her arrows were faster. More stable.

She was sure they'd be stronger, too.

So, as her practice continued, a small grin crept its way across the woman's freckled cheeks. One arrow after another disappeared over the water, nearly touching the surface without seeming to disturb the rolling waves.

Not too far down the beach from the Quincy archer, the air would crackle and warp as a Senkaimon ripped through reality, depositing it's summoner neatly in the damp sand of Minatumi Harbour. The cloaked Shinigami absently brushed sand off of his uniform, glancing around to make sure he was in the correct place. Even as Laskt stared up at the bustling island town, his fingers rapped a nervous rhythm on the hilt of his blade as his mind raced.

In the aftermath of the demonic invasion of the Rukongai, the Knight of the Detention Unit had been hospitalized for weeks due to his severe injuries slipping in and out of unconsciousness even as various healing Kido restored his shattered bones and torn muscles. Unfortunately, this forced unconsciousness had had a rather unfortunate side effect, allowing the demon within to erode away at the extensive mental blocks Laskt had put up against him, feeding off the Shinigami's Reiatsu and growing ever stronger within his psyche. The former Knight hadn't felt his inner Hollow this strong since he was first infected, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could safely contain the demon.

Perhaps that was why he had come here, to the place one of the most powerful Vizard in existence had made her home, even if she was reputed to be a tad.....eccentric. However, that didn't mean he was entirely sure that this whole thing was a good idea. Maybe he should just go and hope nobody would notice his unauthorized excursion.

The former Knight was about to do just that in fact when his thoughts were shattered by the sound of a spiritual weapon discharging. He spun on his heel, falling into a half-crouch with his blade drawn part way out of it's sheath, expecting an instant attack.

Instead of blasts of energy however, all the Shinigami saw was a woman, dressed strangely and holding a massive longbow and firing...bolts of spiritual energy from it. Laskt sighed, Of course there is a Quincy, this can't be hard enough already. The Shinigami would warily approach the woman, expecting her to turn and open fire at any moment, "Hello there Miss. Would you happen to know where a 'Ulv' is?" He asked politely, trying not to stare at her massive weapon.

The tickling at the back of her mind had been nothing new since coming to the harbor town. Spiritual beings came and went with regularity, many of them with fairly strong signatures. After so long, she had tuned out the constant pulls at her attention, and so, she had missed the nearby disturbance in the atmospheric reishi entirely. It was only when a stranger's voice had rung in her ears that she acknowledged his presence...

Sylvia turned quickly on her heel, the end of her bow digging a shallow trench through the sand as it was dragged into place and aimed directly at the newcomer. Her gloved hand knocked an arrow in an instant, and whatever enjoyment had once adorned her face was now replaced with a hard stare.

"Oh," she breathed after a moment. The arm holding her arrow from its flight relaxed and slacked, and she slowly lowered her weapon before the projectile vanished entirely. However, she neglected to dismiss the bow itself. There was something... off about the very large man. Something unsettling; she couldn't quite place her finger on it, though.

"Zorry." When she spoke, it was heavily accented with her German habits. "Sche's in tovn. Zee large houze on top of zee hill. Vu can't miss it." Her green eyes didn't dare to leave the man, or the blade at his hip. For whatever reason, even her skin crawled in his presence.

It was times like these that Laskt really, really regretted that Soul Society didn't have some sort of spiritual plate mail as standard issue for patrolling Shinigami.

Upon his polite greeting, the brown haired Quincy whipped around almost immediately, the lower end of her bow digging a furrow in the soft sand as the weapon was turned upon him. The former Knight's eyes widened as he processed the last few seconds, then the Shinigami abruptly vanished as he Flash-Stepped away, appearing a few steps backwards from his previous position and slightly to the woman's right, not close enough for a strike, but very much out of the way of the bow. The mind of the Shinigami mind raced as he drew his weapon, holding it loosely in a two-handed grip, still unsure whether to commit to a full-on attack.Why is it that every time I leave Soul Society, something is trying to kill me, manipulate me, or both? Laskt thought bitterly, carefully watching the Quincy for signs the woman was resuming her attack. If the Quincy looked closely, she would notice the small blue jewel at the tip glowing with an inner azure glow as the warrior's reiatsu stirred as the former knight watched her cautiously.

To the reluctant Vizard's surprise however, his assailant dismissed the arrow, if not the massive longbow she somehow carried. Likewise, the warrior would lower his blade to his side in a loose one-handed grip, yet not sheathing the weapon, the blue jewel losing some of it's radiance. Carefully watching the woman, he approached once again, deliberately slowly to avoid another stand-off. He inclined his head, "I apologize as well, I didn't mean to startle you. He said softly, the remnants of a French accent, acquired long ago, gracing his words. "Thank you for your directions miss, I wanted to make sure I didn't cause undue disturbance to Lady Ulv."

He once again nodded his head at the woman, and turned to leave, walking a few steps before turning back, "Before I go, might I ask what you are doing? I doubt any fishermen coming in would appreciate dodging spirit arrows after all."

Her gaze followed the robed stranger closely as he vanished, only to reappear again within her range of vision. He was trained, and just as jumpy as she, but... In the end, nothing became of it all. Even if the two kept their weapons at hand, a fight didn't seem likely, yet.

So, Sylvia's expression softened just a little as the man approached and apologized, and she noted how... polite he was being. Even the hints of a familiar accent didn't escape her attention. Her stance slackened as he turned to leave, though he pulled her away from the open waters again with yet another question.

"Bracdice," she responded almost matter-of-factly. "Don't vorry apout zee men. I can zee zeir poats, und mein arrovs von't ko near zem." The woman looked him up and down for a moment, with more senses than just her eyes, and continued before he'd had a chance to leave. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out just what was... wrong with the stranger. What drew her ire every time she looked at him? "Vy are vu looking for Ulff?"