Autumn Memories

Victoria accepted Natasha's assurances to support her with a warm smile and light nod of her head. She appreciated the offer, and would gladly accept it; though when it came time to fight, she wasn't sure what would happen if they worked together. Victoria had never really been a team player in battle, or at least had never needed to be. She was a one-woman army when needed, and an effective assassin when that was needed as well. Needed? Forced to be, she reminded herself. None of that was ever her choice...though she was good at it.

Wanting to continue their conversation, Victoria gladly followed along as Natasha directed them to a food truck a short walk away to the edge of the training yard. She'd already lived here going on a few months short of a year, so she was no stranger to the foods the Vandenreich and City of Light both offered, but she could use some lunch so it worked out anyway.

"At the risk of sounding arrogant, damn near everything Natasha. Whatever's needed of me, I'm confident I can do. Hopefully that'll be enough, but even at my best that horde of Hollows crawling out of that hole was like nothing I've seen before. What about you? You seemed pretty proud of your marksmanship a second ago, so I assume that's your specialty?"

Natasha offered an impressed whistle at those confident words. The graceful and sincere woman had something of an edge to her. The statement only elevated her sincere perception of the woman as she offered to pay for the woman's lunch, placing an order for two as she patiently placed a hand at her hip. In response to her inquiry, the blonde offered a confirmative nod, flashing a finger to mimic the motion of a gun as she chuckled.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with tootin' yer own horn, sweetheart. If anything, that's music to mah' ears. Far as my specialty goes, ya guessed it right. I pride myself on my marksmanship. I've been wieldin' guns for most of my life, and while I definitely believe every weapon has its use on the battlefield, I'll always favor a gun nine times out of ten. I reckon when it comes to reishi and compressin' everythin' into bullet form, there's a lot ya can do with guns constructed out of reishi. Rifles, cannons, machine guns, the works. I can wield em' with the best of em!"

Though not typically the person to let someone else pay for her meal, Victoria didn't feel like turning a cold shoulder to Natasha's kindness. So, she gratefully accepted the blond's offer and stood idly by as their order was prepared by the couple in the food truck. Afterward, she turned back to Natasha, mouthed a silent thank you and listened to her speak again. Turns out she's a bit of a gun-totin' sharpshooter. Though Victoria had no clue what she was capable of, the way she spoke made her grateful to not be her enemy.

"Ha, I'm glad we're on the same side then Natasha! Wouldn't want to be in your sights, that's for sure. Guns are a good choice, if you know how to use them. Does make me wonder if there were Quincies in the past who walked around with Reishi muskets...but I'm going to guess your weapons of choice are a bit more modern than that." Victoria chuckled a bit at the series of images in her head, first she imagined some old fogy with a Reishi musket that took five minutes to fire two shots, then she imagined Natasha lugging around the same thing. "My Spirit Weapon is a bit older fashioned though. It's a crossbow that affixes to my wrist."

"Hey now, the all-rounder who is well-equipped for almost every combat situation in the book would have me breakin' a mighty fierce sweat if I was facin' her on enemy lines. I reckon the feelin's mutual in that regard. Can't say my father carried no musket, but he did tell me half of what I know about wielding firearms. Picked up most of the other half through trial and error, and several years in the army."

Natasha shared the woman's humor as the couple in the food truck prepared their order. The notion of Quincy pride certainly wasn't lost on her, but there would never be a shortage of pride regarding her talent with a firearm. It was the one skill she could hang her hat on apart from several others, a talent she would proudly pass on to others when she finally decided to retire. Since that wasn't happening any time soon, she could revel in having fun on the battlefield with those otherworldly talents a little longer.

When their food finally arrived, a fulfilling spread of Latin cuisine, Natasha would begin digging into her meal, commenting on Victoria's on old-fashioned weapon. Crossbows had their merit, truth be told, and since it was attached to her wrist, that undoubtedly meant her firing speed might be exceptionally versatile given her talents. Of course, that was just a hunch on Natasha's part. Most of it, at least, were assumptions based on her perception of what wielding a crossbow entailed.

"Old-fashioned, eh? I'm pretty sure it's quite useful in battle if you ask me. Compared to a normal bow, I reckon ya' can fire off a wave of arrows without having to pull a bowstring back, right? I'm not readily familiar with crossbows, certainly, but I imagine wieldin' it on your wrist only works to your advantage."

Something Victoria had learned, or at least managed to figure out for herself, is that telling a person you're a do-it-all kind of fighter instead of a well-trained assassin often went over better. The Vandenreich took in all kinds, sure, but she felt it best to keep her past and full arsenal of skills close to the chest. She wouldn't gain anything by telling a person she had experience killing with every tool imaginable, lead pipes, sniper rifles, furniture legs, and human legs. So, she thought, why bother?

Interesting. thought Victoria as she listened to Natasha while they received their food. "Sounds like you have a lot of training and experience under your belt, Natasha. Impressive." She paused to take a bite, enjoying the combination of rice and beans in her food. Having been forced to live off some of the worst "food" imaginable for her childhood and young adult life, after gaining her freedom Victoria had gained a great appreciation for actual food.

"Yeah, it's definitely useful. Easy to aim on the fly. But it actually doesn't shoot all that fast, if you can believe it. Has to do with the weight of the Reishi bolts...anyway, it's certainly gotten me out of a bind or two. What about you Natasha, what's your Spirit Weapon like? I imagine it's a rifle or handgun of some kind?"

"Aw, shucks. All this praise is gonna' fatten my ego at this rate. Considerin' yer words just now, I reckon you have some experience under yer belt, too, right? Honestly, we'd make a great team. I can just imagine it now. Tag-Team Coordinators. The Texan Gunslinger and the American All-Rounder with the crossbow in hand. We'd just need a cool intro theme at that point."

Exchanging a playful jest, Natasha would indulge in her own meal, biting into the soft burrito filled with perfectly seasoned meat and lettuce, along with a hint of citrus layered in. The melody of flavors was neither overpowering nor sour, and the first bite elicited a sound of pleasing approval. Victoria confirmed her predictions save for one fact, it seemed. The firing speed of the crossbow was compromised by the size of the bolts. Was that because of the sheer power of the arrows?

Natasha was certainly familiar with the concept. Grandmaster Cyrus' archery operated on a similar principle. One arrow was greater than the sum of its parts, or something to that degree. Perhaps she could explore that concept with her firearms moving forward? Food for thought, certainly. It was also just as simple to assume that her weapon wasn't constructed that way. When the subject of her spirit weapon was broached, Natasha wasted no time in forming her spirit weapon within her opposite hand. Its initial state was that of a pistol. What followed next were a few transformations. There was, at once, a pistol, assault rifle, and a revolver all within the span of a few seconds. Burrito in hand, spinning a revolver around in the other, Natasha winked at Victoria with a playful grin.

"My spirit weapon takes on the shape of a bunch of firearms. Not toot my own horn or anythin', but I fancy bein' prepared for all sorts of situations."

The picture Natasha was painting of them being some kind of 80's cartoon superhero duo elicited a gentle laugh from Victoria. They really would make quite a duo, though she still didn't know much about this woman. A five minute conversation was hardly enough to get to know a person, after all. She continued eating her meal, her appreciation for it growing with every bite, as silence set upon them. This is nice, thought Victoria. This kind of day was why she so enjoyed being here. She could spend hours training fresh recruits and working on her own skills, then have a nice conversation and meal to go with it. It reminded her a little of life before that horrific chasm swallowed everything whole.

When Victoria asked Natasha about her spirit weapon, she didn't expect an actual demonstration. When the latter summoned a handgun, Victoria sat straight up, her silvery blue eyes focused intently on the woman's weapon. She watched with interest as Natasha cycled through its various forms, displaying a certifiable arsenal at her disposal. After she finished chewing, Victoria reacted to the display "Wow. You aren't kidding. I didn't think a Spirit Weapon could take so many forms. That is just one, right?"

Noting the gentle laugh escaping Victoria's lips, Natasha was content to know her attempt at humor hadn't fallen flat on its head. Victoria was fine company, all things considered, and if she truly was serious about working with her in one form or another, these conversations were ideal in developing chemistry moving forward.

Though she wasn't resoundingly sure a combination of their respective skills would mesh, Natasha was supremely confident in their talents as fighters. They were veteran warriors, after all. Hardly strangers to the battlefield.

To her, they were bound for greatness, destined for success. It all simply started with belief in Natasha's eyes. Turning her head in the raven-haired woman's direction, observing her intrigued expression, Natasha chuckled softly as she allowed her spirit weapon to disperse into ambient reishi. Finishing the majority of her meal, the southern woman nodded her head with a bright smile.

"Yeah, just one. It use to be a set of bullet shells, but I've been refining it to simplify things and allow myself to employ my weapons of choice, and this is the result, more or less. Mind showin' off yer own, sweetheart? I'm curious to see that crossbow in action. Hell, even a brief sample'll do. I know you're a busy lady, after all."

So not only was it a single Spirit Weapon that could turn into a veritable arsenal of guns, but it had also evolved from a much different form? This Natasha sure was an impressive woman, and she only improved in Victoria's estimation the more she learned of her. Not to mention there was something just so endearing about being called sweetheart by a charming southern girl like her, which brought a bright smile to Victoria's face.

"A demonstration?" asked Victoria with an eyebrow raised, unsure if she just meant conjuring it or actually showing what it's capable of. If the former, she could probably do it while sitting here eating...but if she meant the latter, she would definitely have to get up. At the very least she was only comfortable conjuring Mephistopheles, as it at least didn't actively harm her like Faust does. "Sure, I can do that Natasha."

Victoria stood up from their table and faced her new friend as she reached into her pocket then brought out a small silver cross that was virtually featureless, clearly no great piece of jewelry. She held it to the back of her left wrist and, in a flash of light, it transformed into a pitch black cruel-looking crossbow attached tightly to her arm. After nodding to Natasha, Victoria turned in place, raised her arm, and fired a heavy bolt at the closest nearby training dummy. A chain of Reishi connected the bolt to her crossbow, and with a quick jerk of her arm Victoria yanked the dummy straight out of the ground and pulled it all the way to her where it fell into a lump at her feet.

Afterward, Victoria turned back to the other woman and spoke again "Might not be quite as versatile as yours Natasha, but it does have its uses."

"Whew."

Voicing her amazement through an impressed whistle, Natasha observed the trajectory and range of the crossbow as the bolt reeled the training dummy in like a fish caught by a fishermen's rod. The seamless flow of the bolt was mighty intriguing. A capable weapon in the hands of a capable woman. Though Victoria attempted to downplay herself, Natasha could certainly envision a variety of versatility for a crossbow like this.

Reeling the opponent in, for example, pummeling them with close range offense. String them through an area while she launched a variety of heilig pfeil with her opposite hand. To her, the options were many. Natasha chortled softly as she clapped her hands in applause.

"Maybe so, but it's one helluva weapon, and that's all that matters, right? It took me training with mine in the field of battle and trainin' to refine it to its current degree. We can always explore the nature of yer own' one day, too. Little sparrin' there, little trainin' here. And then, we can defeat anyone who dares step our way."