Scene #1114: Inner City Piracy

Owner	Pose
Crimson Sea	Late evening at one of the larger museums along Southern Urbania's harbor district, the Museum of Historic Artifacts. Given the multiversal nature of Urbania's massive sprawl, the visitors in this large building range from the mundane to the eccentric to the downright weird, and as a result fitting in amongst the displays of ancient objects and jewel-encrusted baubles is simply a matter of existing. Naturally the building is divided into numerous wings, each a sprawling, roomy hall with plenty of room to display whatever it is dedicated to. Here, the collected artifacts of an extinct civilization of sentient corgis. There, the displayed (deactivated) weapons of the long lost Mothman Empire. Donated goods and riches from a million cultures gathered under one roof. And of course, the patrons themselves are something of an exercise in creativity as well. There is one in particular who does not stand out at all. An ordinary woman wearing a white surcoat with red trim, sporting an eyepatch and a sailor's tricorner hat. Flanked by a dour looking man in a buttoned up black surcoat of his own, she strolls down the center of the Corgi Imperium hall of treasures, hands tucked neatly in her pockets. She does not look at any of the displays. It seems she already knows what she wants, here.
Ryu	A man with blue hair is at the Museum of Historic Artifacts. This man was waiting here, because the ripples of Crimson Sea's heading were felt in local circles. People who had a stake in keeping their own interests from collapsing. Once the man in a soldier's uniform knew he could find someone he yearned to fight, he wasted no time getting to where she would be. Not to stop her from stealing anything, no, because that would only be a temporary solution at best. Ryu watched with a false indifference as she wandered into the room he had set himself up in. The Museum itself didn't take his weapons once he explained what was going on and what it would mean, so when he turns to regard the room in vague curiosity, the metal buckles of his sword belt rattled. Then he walked, briskly stepping to stop before Crimson Sea. The look on his face was a kind of cool disdain that only certain types of people showed. It's easy to read him just at a glance, but then, he was never trying to be inconspicuous. He doesn't say anything. He just hopes, for a moment, that he has her attention. He can't mistake this woman for anyone else.
Crimson Sea	The Captain comes to a stop when someone steps directly in her path with all the look of someone spoiling for a fight. Simply gazing him over with that single eye of hers, she appraises the soldier, then glances to the man standing at her side. There's a slight gesture, there, and he steps away. Not to proceed without her, no. This is the pace of a man hurrying to get out of the way while trying not to look like he's hurrying. Crimson Sea returns her eye to the youth, removing her hand from her pocket to just let it hang at her side. Like this, she takes on an unbelievably nonchalant stance. "If yer gonna take a swing, ya best do it now, mate," she chides with a fanged grin, "'cuz ya ain't gonna get a better chance 'n this."
Ryu	Ryu's eyes turn as Crimson's subordinate moves out of the way. The glance shows no empathy, just the understanding of what his retreat means. When his fairly inhuman eyes turn to regard Crimson again, they glow with a faintly golden light, like the fury behind them was boiling his draconic nature and making it leak out. Like a mirror image of her, his body is as tense as a rock. She doesn't care that he's here and he wants to fight her. It only serves to make him more angry that she even exists at all. She barely has time to blink after finishing her sentence before that oversized handgun is pulled from its holster and pointed right at her face. He doesn't waste his breath talking to her. His introduction is a small fiery explosive blast from a weapon with enough kick to knock lesser men over, the blast from the heat of the weapon blowing his hair back and making his eyes squint slightly.
Crimson Sea	The reaction is immediate. Like watching a cobra in action. That weapon is pulled up, and it doesn't take an Exalted to know what he means to do with it. The gun comes up and the pirate goes down, the flames scorching the top of her hat but doing little to knock it loose. At the floor, she lands in a three-pointed stands, the one hand still tucked into her jacket pocket, then springs forward. The pirate does not strike with a closed fist. Rather, she aims for the left side of Ryu's chest with her palm. A simple heel blow, save that her fingers are curled like talons as if she means to rip his heart right out. Perhaps his dragon-inherited ribcage will prevent that, but the blow still has the force of a small car behind it. Contrasting Ryu's serious, even grim expression, Crimson Sea's face has twisted into a cruel smile, "Yer not th' like ta mince words! Might be as well yer worth th' effort!"
Ryu	THUMP. It does not crack any ribs. It does, however, bruise Ryu and hurt a whole lot. And once he's in melee range with her, using the handgun just isn't at all feasible. Once he's done flinching and he's sucked in a breath to recover from being winded, he growls to her in all-too-inhuman a way, and spins the handgun in his hand so he's holding it by the barrel, probably outside of her periphery while she's still recovering from her own attack. Not sparing any effort replying to her beyond giving her that baleful glower, he instead spares most of his effort in doing something more direct. Since she's closer and he's not great at melee confrontations, he tries to pistolwhip her with the grip. Combined with his physical strength and the material of his weapon, it's actually a great deal more dangerous than actually shooting her with it! The growl of effort that accompanies his attack comes complete with his lips pulling back and revealing his sharp teeth.
Crimson Sea	There's a satisfying sound when the heel of that pistol strikes the side of the pirate's skull. She jerks from the impact, though does not go down nor does her head cave in as one might expect. A thin trickle of red runs down the side of her face, from beyond her hairline. The stunned look on her face becomes a grin, showing her own fangs, and she starts to laugh in a low, breathy fashion. "So ya've some craftiness in ya after all," There's a metallic clattering sound amidst the unsettled groans of people in some indistinct pain. The source: An oily black chain pouring out of the woman's sleeve, a good two meters or so coiling on the floor at her feet. "I was worried that I'd get bored o' ya!" She takes a step back, snapping the chain up in an arc and then bringing it down not simply as a whip, but with the intent of entangling the dragon-ish soldier within its spiked links, "Keep it up, c'mon! Make this outin' worth th' walk!"
Ryu	Ryu is not prepared for someone like Crimson Sea, and this becomes readily apparent when he can't react to the Soulsteel Chain in time. The weapon is brought back and up into the air, and then cracking against his flesh with force much greater than anything else he's ever experienced. Once he's felt that, his eyes go wide-- and it wraps around him, digging into his flesh with the spikes. He lets out a noise that's a mix between panic and agony, the thorough perforation he has to endure sending waves of pain through his body. Instinct kicks in. A bright white light shines from his whole body, and a growl of pain comes with it. But instead of turning larger, he instead turns into a more compact, dragon-like shape. The handgun discarded for the time being, the Abyssal Dread Pirate is then staring at a shining white-scaled dragon. Its eyes pierce through her, seeming a little 'off'... but it isn't helpless. It jerks its body away from the chain that no doubt became slack from his change in mass. Then, with the horrific pain more of a distraction, the dragon rushed inward to take two big swipes at Crimson Sea with golden claws that threaten to do a great deal more damage than his handgun could ever hope to achieve.
Crimson Sea	The blinding flash scores the chain, though it only howls its agony in response. With a flick of her wrist, Crimson recalls the Drowning Shot's length back into her sleeve, all but a meter or so, which she cracks against the floor hard enough to shatter the tile and the concrete beneath it, "Oh yer jus' FULL o' surprises!" That single blue eye of hers shines with merriment. At least someone's enjoying themselves tonight. When the dragon lunges for her, the pirate skips back, that first swipe slashing more of her sleeve than her skin though it does manage to draw blood. The second swipe is stopped dead in its tracks when she lifts the chain, clasped between both hands, to block those claws entirely. "Sure are fond o' new tricks, mate, but yer gonna need more technique 'n that ta stand up ta th' Silent Wolf o' th' Crimson Sea." In a flash of motion, she attempts to wrap the chain about that extended arm, such that she can swing her hard-soled boot at the elbow. Should the entanglement succeed and that blow land, the result is going to be more than a little painful.
Ryu	Ryu is easy to entangle, being inaccurate, slow, even untrained as a dragon, though it doesn't make it less impressive for the woman to wrangle an angry dragon with a chain like that. His claws are, indeed, stopped, and a brief flash of confusion shows on his mug just before getting a boot right in the elbow. The loud THWACK that accompanies it and the way his body stiffens up shows that it hurt a whole lot. He squeals in a way few other creatures can manage, confirming that she hurt him significantly once more. And the jerk from the pain includes more of that spike-poking. He's bleeding a bit from that! In addition to all the other wounds that came with the first whip strike. But she doesn't take his arm off, or break his arm. Even so, he doesn't favor it when he tries to attack her again. Since physical attacks are proving ineffective and she's got him grabbed, he tries to gain some breathing room... by breathing in a big lungful of air, first. Then he releases a blast of white fire, hoping to coat her in it. It's not hot, but it is destructive and would not be fun to stand in for any period of time, and has all the properties of a good holy spell. He continues for a good few seconds, forcing the point: He wants her out of his face for a second. He's just hoping that it works.
Crimson Sea	A snap of her wrist unravels the Drowning Shot once more and the pirate slides herself back, dragging that moaning chain across the floor the whole way. This is the first time she's even pulled her left hand out of her pocket--to block--though now she has both at the read and that grin on her face. Dragon's fire, however, is a thing she expects. HOLY dragon's fire, not so much. The moment she realizes how abnormal the fireball coming down on her is, she throws up both arms to defend her face with the sleeves of her surcoat. The billowing edges fray behind her. The Drowning Shot screams, a mixture of human suffering and twisting metal. Amidst the dancing holy flames becomes evident a seething, writhing corruption of pure twilight. Absolute blackness that hurts to look at, seeping from the enflamed woman's every pore. Scorched, she steps out of the flames, approaching the dragon. The Drowning Shot slithers across the floor and then disappears into her sleeve entirely. "Now ya've gone an' done it." Her right hand dips into her jacket, as if reaching into the jacket's inner pocket. What she removes could not possibly have EVER fit under her coat unnoticed--it probably couldn't fit under her coat at all. In a single, sweeping motion she draws forth a mass of oily black steel larger than she is. The arc of the motion gouges a divot in the concrete below as she approaches, wielding what could only be described as a ship's anchor in one hand as if it weighed nothing. "Ya had a good thin' goin', mate," she scolds as she closes distance. Chain pays out of her sleeve, attached to the anchor's shackle, "Amusin'. Crafty. An' then ya had ta go an' annoy me." Lifting her gaze, that grin is no longer playful. Murderous intent plays in her eye, now shot through with bloody red. The anchor is released and she snatches the chain it's attached to. Using it like a massive flail, she sweeps the weapon up behind her and then slams it down--either on top of Ryu's draconic form or the ground he currently occupies--with all the force of a freight train. "Yer banjaxed! Yer screwed! Now Death's comin' fer you!"
Ryu	Ryu is not in much of a state of mind to properly appreciate what he has done beyond the obviously effective nature of his dragon fire. The darkness is antithetical to him. It is something that claws at his instincts and only solidifies his mad desire to try to kill Crimson Sea. Because that was his intent from the beginning, and it's why he doesn't flinch when she clearly gets angrier. Fear only serves to make him growl a low noise back at her, challenging her words with the animalistic wrath that he's feeling right then. His clouded judgment is not so clouded that her anchor does not get noticed. The weapon looks heavy, and the fact that she can swing it around as if it were as light as foam makes no difference. The damage to the floor is enough to indicate that to him. Once the weapon is swung down for him, he moves quickly to avoid getting pulverized by it, instead getting winged and propelled backward. He avoids it just enough that it does less damage than her previous weapon had done, but only because of a lucky roll and an effort to avoid having his skull split open. The huge chunk of flooring that is shattered from the weapon hitting where he was once standing. He glances at it, briefly, then grunts at the bruised sensation of his partial dodge. Choosing to make the range and weight of that thing less of a hassle for him, he tries to leap toward Crimson for a full body tackle, complete with grabbing claws and a mouth full of teeth opening and trying to bite anywhere that he can get a decent hold on her. It's there he attempts the proven tactic that felines love: Clawing the hell out of someone that is too close to their pointy claws and teeth.
Crimson Sea	The Silent Wolf is no berserker. While enraged by the pain incited in her body by the anathema of holy power she had been bathed in, she retains her tactical senses. And so, when Ryu evades the bulk of her anchor's impact, she immediately yanks on the chain. It recedes into her sleeve, wrenching the Burden free and calling it back to her waiting hand. With a scant heartbeat to react, she slams the flukes down into the floor in front of her, shattering the concrete and presenting the soulsteel shaft of the anchor as a barrier between herself and the dragon leaping at her. This proves an effective defense, by the tell that only her coat suffers for it. "Dive in head-first without checkin' th' depth," she chides. With a jump, she swings her foot upward, slamming it into the anchor near the shackle at the top. This causes the entire thing to tip precariously towards Ryu. If he doesn't move fast enough, he'll find out just how heavy the Burden of Injustice reall is!
Ryu	Ryu misses completely, slamming into the anchor which absolutely refuses to budge under his weight. He stares at Crimson Sea from around it as if only just realizing that he is terribly, terribly out of his league if he can be halted with something as simple as placing that weapon between her and him. Already demoralized by that, the fact that he's about to be flattened makes him let out a startled yelp as it tips over on him. Despite his best efforts, the crumbly ground refuses to hold his weight /and/ the Anchor's and his own strength gives. It slams down on top of him and nearly buckles his bones. He scrambles out from under it in time to avoid being outright killed by the weapon, but it leaves an obvious fracture point in his thick scales, to add to the rest of the damage he's accrued. Ryu doesn't pause and think about this action, either. He scrambles, thinking to pick up his handgun as he leaves. His legs, thankfully, are intact, so he runs and leaps through a nearby window, shattering it on his very clear attempt to get away as fast as possible. Just the impact of the glass causes him to growl in pain! He is in seriously bad shape.
Crimson Sea	As soon as Ryu scrambles out from under the Burden, Crimson yanks on its chain, wrenching the weapon back up and into her hand. As he makes his escape, she whirls the weapon, paying out chain, then slinging it after him. He smashes his way through the window and, scant heartbeats later, the Burden smashes through the wall right next to it, drops, then hooks in place. Tugging on the chain, Crimson is hauled up to her weapon, planting her feet on the fluke and the shackle and leaning out the opening. At the fleeing figure, she laughs loud and long, taunting him, "/RUN/! Yer only delayin' it!" However, she drops back down. The Burden returns to her grip and she swings it twice, then drives it into her surcoat where it disappears. Like a ghost, her subordinate is at her side, looming, while she raises her hand to snap her fingers. "Now then. I'll be takin' everythin' in this room. An' if yer not outta here in ten seconds, that's includin' yer lives."