Old Habits Die Hard [Violet/Amaranta]

Violet never considered herself a “good” person. Good people don’t fall back into bad habits when things get dark for them. They always seem to get better, fight through it, as if they had an extra strength the general population didn’t have. They were the ones people wrote books and movies about, called heroes or “protagonists.” Violet wasn’t one of those people. When things got dark for her, depression and anger replaced any semblance of a decent person.

After running away from home, again, Violet wandered the streets, ignoring the messages they sent. She read them, a small hope for those wondering if she was dead in a gutter, but she never replied. When he said he had to leave town for a while, she made her way back home to eat what he left. That was nicer than most people, she guessed. She usually dealt with takeout, or Aidan’s shop, but she couldn’t afford him after she spent all of her money on the one thing she wanted and then stupidly lost it by falling asleep on a damn do-gooder. Thief…

Violet now made her way through the City of Lights, walking under the bright neon signs that made up what she would call the “entertainment district.” Bars, night clubs, restaurants, etc… She was getting desperate for a little cash the more she walked through all of this and knew she couldn’t partake in something fun. Well, old habits were right there on the shelf to take off, so Violet looked around for some easy kind-hearted-looking sap that she could snatch a wallet from.

Violet’s first target was easy. A quick apology and they were on their way, but they didn’t have enough in their wallet for the slightest high. Then, Violet found another and another. By the third wallet snatch, she was pretty happy, but she knew she could always go for a bit more. Why not? She was blending in well. A baseball cap, black t-shirt, and dark hair was the easiest way to make sure no one could easily recognize you. Another street over and Violet was looking for her next mark.

It wasn’t long before she found it either. Tall women sure did stand out and this one was a fucking beacon of ‘look at me.’ Violet did what she does best and walked up near the large woman. She bumped into the woman pretty hard, quickly noticing the difference between this woman and the others she bumped into. Refusing to hesitate, a quick and skillful example of slight of hand gave Violet yet another wallet. “Sorry about that! In a rush,” Violet called out, hurrying her pace. She felt a little strange about this one. That woman was built like a brick wall…

A kaleidoscope of bright colors filled a bronze woman's vision as she entered this city for the first time. Entertaining place, to be sure. There were bright-eyed civilians observing her in awed silence, there were others who regarded her with intimidation, and far too many other reactions to keep track of. In a word, this brightly lit town was innovative, though she questioned why it was situated in the middle of the sea versus actual land---

Whatever. She intended on going shopping now. What kind of clothing did this place sell? Grinning from ear to ear, she walked toward the closest fashion store full of clothing that could potentially accenuate her curves and musculature in equal measure. Of course, before she could actually enter, she felt someone bump into her. Of course, that hardly bothered her. What did bother her was the blatant disrespect this pickpocket displayed by choosing to rob her.

Naturally, her default reaction would've been to flash forward, grab her, and take her money back. She was in a city where laying a finger on this woman could reflect poorly on her resume, ruin any potential chance she had at visiting this place again. Exhaling softly, she turned in the direction this woman, quietly following behind her as she called out to her.

"Where are you rushing to with my money, huh? What's the security like in this place if women like you can just pickpocket people at random? That said, pretty impressive. If I lacked proper spatial awareness, ya mighta got one over on me, lady. Now, give me my wallet back. I got stuff to buy and places to be."

There were too many people and way too much loud music blaring from night clubs for Violet to so easily hear someone calling her out as a thief. It wasn’t often that someone could even realize that she did something, so when she actually did hear that voice, she realized that she was being followed. It also confirmed that something about that woman was… supernatural. She was a Quincy… or powered human? Violet had no ability to identify that kind of thing, at least not yet.

Realizing she had been caught, Violet suddenly darted forward as fast as she could. The woman following her would realize that Violet was really no more than a normal human by speed standards, and reiatsu standards, so it was laughable that she was trying to get way. However, Violet didn’t stop. Maybe she could make it to an alley and hide in the shadows? The first turn she could make, Violet slid across concrete, bumping into someone before sprinting down the alley.

"Good grief. What is running going to achieve?"

Calling out to the woman, clearly heedless of those who surrounded her, she vanished from her current point to another, reappearing above the woman as her perquisa immediately discerned her location. Evading her was going to be a tall order, but she wasn't exactly aiming to do anything here but regain her stolen funds, to say nothing of the other important shit in her wallet. Exhaling again, she cocked her head to the side as she put her hand out.

"Come on. If you're starved for cash, I'll toss somethin' at ya. Just give me my wallet back. Pickpocketing isn't your thing if I can catch up to you this easily."

What was running going to achieve? Violet didn’t know at this point. She had chosen the wrong mark, but she was also in need of the money, so she couldn’t just give it back now. Violet just kept running as fast as her legs could carry her, becoming confused when the voice seemed to come from above her.

“What the hell?” Violet slid to a stop at the end of the alley, putting her hand out to prevent her from crashing into the wall of another building right before a turn. She looked around and then up. “Oh, so you’d just hand me the cash? Yeah fucking right.” Violet looked left and right, trying to decide which direction go to, but finding on easy answer to this. So, she chose a random direction and continued.

Rolling her eyes as though annoyed by her resistance, the bronze lion pondered her next move. As expected, she was making this difficult. Of course she'd hand her the cash. What was it with humans and their investment in this thing they called money? She was far away from the epitome of kindness, and she wouldn't exactly say her improvement suddenly meant she was a charitable individual. She simply wanted to experience the path of least resistance for both of their sakes. Currently, this rowdy lady wanted to be rebellious and keep running.

"With that attitude? Hell no. I'm not going to kiss your ass and keep chasin' after you, idiot. Outrunning me is a no-go, and I'm pretty sure you just want to have fun and spend cash somewhere. I don't care about what you do with it after that, but I do care about my personal possessions..."

Vanishing and reappearing before her again, fierce orbs of azure bore down on her as she extended her hand outward.

"Come on, be a good girl and give it back, will ya?

Violet slid to a stop again, this time almost losing her balance when this large woman appeared in front of her. Looking around at the blur orbs that surrounded her, Violet turned her attention back to the woman. “Yeah, well, I’ve never been a ‘good girl,’ so I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Maybe hold onto your shit next time. It’s mine now, and go ahead! If you let this shit go off,” Violet pointed to the blue orbs around her. “Vandenreich will be down here so fast, you won’t have time to deal with me. What moron pulls this kind of shit out in the middle of the City of Lights? Did all your brain power go to your height?”

"Hahahahaha!"

A booming peal of laughter erupted from her throat at the woman's cocksure words. Rebellious by nature herself, she certainly welcomed this woman's approach. Much to her chagrin, though, she was little more than bark, and the fact she threatened her like that told her all she needed to know. Stepping past her with a seemingly defeated grin, she cut a fissure through the space behind her, opening a Garganta, as though she intended to leave. In the next moment, however, the lioness seized the woman by her hair and tossed her into the first location that came to mind - all without setting off a single alarm. An empty and verdant field with only the sun, now lowered on the horizon, as her sole witness.

There were many things that didn't quite bother her, but telling her that she was dumb and incapable of retrieving her goods? Well, that earned her a spot somewhere far away from the City of Lights. Now, they were in Japan, her current country of residence.

However she landed, didn't matter, but it wasn't a long fall, and now they were somewhere where no one would bother her, nor judge her for her actions. To Amaranta, that was just fine. To Violet? Perhaps not. Grinning from ear to ear, she turned back to the woman as she approached her, lording over as she pulled her up by her collar off of the ground.

"Now then, what was that about all my brain going to my height? Any security you had just now is gone. At the moment, I could do anything I want, and no one would know."

Violet was so confused. It all happened so fucking fast that she really didn’t get to comprehend it. There was a moment of darkness, of insane cold, and then she was just somewhere else. A verdant field at sunset? What the hell just happened? Wide eyed and horrified, Violet looked back at this woman… What… did I do?’

“Wh-Where am I? Wh-Where did you take me?”

"We're in the middle of Japan. This is where I live. Nice place, dont'cha think?"

Amaranta relished in the sudden shift from rebellious confidence to sheer terror in her expression. Indeed, her quick act had achieved its intended effect, and now the woman was likely reflecting on what she did to end up here. To that, her answer was simple. Respect didn't cost her a damn thing, and if she wasn't strong enough to fight, she had no business talking shit to someone who could wipe her life out in the blink of an eye. Revealing her ears, her grin widened as she flicked one of them. If it wasn't obvious, she was an arrancar, though perhaps that stupid city hadn't learned what they're kind was capable of when challenged.

"Terrifying, isn't it? We've both robbed each other. You took my cash, and I've robbed you of your security and a sense of safety. Now, normally, I don't get off on lording over people like you. Ya got bark, but ya lack bite. Stupid idea to talk back to someone who could kill you, ya know?"