Girls that Pack a Lunch (Meninas, Ehefra)

The pink haired Quincy still had no idea how the room worked but she was having so much fun that it didn’t bother her much. She’d just been trying to find her bearings and had come across the large room by accident, a program left running by whoever had been in there before her. No sooner had she entered and the door closed behind her, Hollows started spawning all over the place. It had been just a few at a time at first but the more she defeated, the more that appeared, much to the bemusement of the woman. Still, she didn’t overthink it and just beat them all up, turning the city-like environment around her into a wasteland.

Meninas was always in motion, leaping from enemy to enemy, grabbing onto them and then delivering a brutal beating with her fists alone. She could’ve added her powers into the mix but simply didn’t feel like it, instead just using the gifts that her body provided her. So much of her childhood years had been spent honing her well toned frame and the effects of that were certainly being felt among the projections around her. The over six foot female was literally throwing them all over the place, performing moves that a wrestler would be proud of.

Jumping upwards, the green eyed woman would leap up and deliver a powerful uppercut to an annoying Hollow that had been buzzing around her, her face shattering its mask in a single blow and causing it to disappear. The projections felt real enough and Meninas was able to feel the impact of her blows. The Scot had no idea how the scientists could do such things, having the technical nous of a cockroach when it came to that field of work.

Landing, she would then sprint towards a lumbering Hollow and grab hold of its leg, before using her immense strength in order to swing it around and then letting go, launching it like a torpedo.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t concentrated much on where she was aiming and certainly didn’t expect to see another woman in the room.

“HEADS UP!” The Scot warned, her thick accent making her words a little hard to decipher.

Meninas blinked as she saw just how quickly the other woman dealt with the Hollow, using a pair of claws to smash it into the ground. It was done in a flash and the tall Quincy had to admit that it was impressive to watch. She was no novice, that was for sure and as the woman introduced herself, the rookie blinked again, not expecting to come across a member of the Administration so easily in her career. Meninas wasn’t sure if she should use honorifics or not and for a moment or two, the rather awkward six footer ummed and arred in her head as to whether she should or not. Why was it that she could shout a warning so easily to a stranger and yet struggle to figure out how to say hello properly afterwards?

“I wouldn’t know how to change the settings if I wanted to. I kind of suck with technology and happened to walk in here while the programme was already running.” Meninas eventually answered sheepishly with an awkward shrug. “Nice to meet you, Administrator, I’m Meninas McAllon, one of the new rookies in the Sternritter. I got to say that the Hollows in here were so lifelike that I thought they were real at first.”

The Sternritter nodded her head in confirmation as the Administrator asked about the program being left on. It seemed to rile her up a little bit and Meninas could kind of see why. The amount of energy that it must have taken to run the program must have been a heck of a lot, judging by the results. She was curious about how the system worked but there was something in the back of her mind that caused her to pause. Would she understand the answer if she asked? There were some topics that seemed to go over her head and science was unfortunately one of those. Her father had tried to teach about technology as a child and Meninas had struggled quite a lot. She had grown to appreciate a more old school way of life, far more so than the rest of her family. The Quincy knew though that she’d have to try and get with the times though, it just might take a while.

Her eyes grew large when the Administrator mentioned that she had created them herself and Meninas mused that maybe she should have known that. Thinking back over how much she enjoyed the programme, she offered without much thought. “If you ever need someone to test out your next batch of golems, I’ll be happy to do so. I haven’t had so much fun in a while.”

With a slightly bashful look, she’d nod a second time when asked about her new role. “Thanks for the welcome. I admit that there’s a lot to learn and It’s taking me some time to settle. I come from a home that was all about farming so coming here is a bit overwhelming. I must have gotten lost about a dozen times already.”

It was a relief to hear that her offer would actually be considered as Meninas instantly snapped to the conclusion that she might have said something stupid after saying it. The rookie meant what she said though and had a feeling that she’d be spending a lot of time training with the various programs anyway. If they were all like the one she’d taken part in then she was game to try them all, as it made a change from simply practising in silence on her own in a quiet spot. It’d always been hard for her to get to know people, not because she was rude or disrespectful but simply that she didn’t always know what to say, leaving others to find her to be a little dim. Her brothers had bullied her a great deal about it which had only made things worse.

Meninas felt rather reassured as the Administrator talked a little about her own background and the pink haired woman’s shoulders relaxed just a bit. Getting around the place had been an absolute nightmare for the Sternritter and so to learn that it wasn’t just her was a relief. “Nice to know that I’m not the only one to struggle a little in the big city. I thought it might be just me.” She replied with a small smile.

The offer of some lunch caught her a little unaware and Meninas responded at first with another dumbfounded blink but once she pulled herself together and rotated her shoulders a bit, she answered, her smile becoming a bit more of a smirk. “I reckon I can keep going for a little while longer if you have something in mind. I won’t say no to some lunch afterwards though.” A part of her wondered if she would regret asking for a challenge but that had never stopped her before. She’d plough through whatever it was, as always.

Meninas had expected the offer to be something along the lines of another program to try but not for the first time that day, it appeared that she’d got it wrong. The pink haired woman was at first rather surprised to have been challenged to a fight with the Administrator herself but she didn’t feel much in the way of nerves or doubt about it. If there was one thing that Meninas was confident in, it was her ability to fight and it didn’t take any more than the challenge itself for the Sternritter to slip into her combat mindset, eyes focused entirely on her opponent, who was moving around her.

Reishi would briefly crackle around her too, her arms becoming entirely covered by a pair of pink gauntlets. They may have looked pretty but appearances were of course deceiving and a smile once again creeped across her face as she took her stance, one that could be considered a textbook example of a boxer. Her left foot was in front of her, along with her hand, ready to pepper the Administrator with as many jabs as she could throw, if and when she came in. Her dominant right hand would be in the rear, waiting to unleash her more powerful blows. The bow might have been the trademark of the Quincy but for this Sternritter anyway, it was simply a backup. She preferred a much more direct way of handling things.

“Can I get your first name before we do this, Administrator? I’ve never liked not knowing the full name of those I fight.” Meninas replied calmly, her intense gaze expressing her interest in the fight far more effectively than her words.

This was going to be fun.