A Meeting in a Whole New World

So she needs to eat souls, huh? Hmm, that's interesting all right. Clearly she was no ordinary fox. She wasn't really sure exactly how this all worked, but she knew that face: she was terrified, not of her, but what she thought of her.

Slowly, she approached the kneeling girl, and crouched down to meet her eye level.

"A girl's gotta eat, right? Besides, I may not know a lot about this whole soul thing, but if it was just sorta floating here, it wasn't doing much anyway. Doesn't seem like too much harm to me, really."

She got up, and offered a hand to the girl. "I never got to introduce myself. I'm Zoe, it's...nice to meet you." she said, before looking away with a small blush at being so open with someone. It's one of the many thing's she hasn't had a reason to do in so long.

She was getting closer, that was it... After hearing that she wouldn't want to help her anymore... Wait she... She was... Comforting her?

She doesn't hate me... She wants to help me... She's so kind...

"S-Still... Consume someone's soul... I... I feel bad..." She said without looking at her then she saw her hand and looked up at the kitsune... Zoe... That was such a pretty name... She noticed a pink tint when she looked at her... Now that she looked closely... She was... Pretty... Shyly accepting her hand, Eri got back on her feet "I-I'm... Eri..."

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Eri, huh? Now that she got a better look at her, something about her was really...striking. Maybe it was those blue eyes next to her red hair. It was...really nice to look at. It took her a moment to realize she was staring, the pink tint still on her face as she looked away scratching her cheek nervously.

"W-Well, I mean, that one was just sorta sitting here, right? I don't think it was doing anything productive. Maybe it was stuck here? I used t' hear old stories about spirits who couldn't move on, so maybe ya did that one a favor! I-"

She noticed out of the corner of her eye. Eyes watching her, from the rooftops. Waiting for their cue.

Crap, we have to keep going, it's the only way this is going to go well.

She got close to her ear and whispered "Listen, we have to keep this going, okay? I promise I won't actually hurt you, but we can't let them know that we stopped. Just go with the flow, and don't worry about hurting me, I can take a little punishment." before jumping backward and being active back and forth, letting her take the first attack to keep the charade going.

The sudden feeling of being watched woke Eri from her daydreaming and she nodded "I-I can do this..." Casting a spell, red light came out from her hands aimed at Zoe, the kitsune felt her energy being drained. Eri on the other hand felt healed but her fever worsening.

(Life Absorption: 72)

Zoe: 39
Eri: 32 + Arcane Fever: 2.5

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Woooooah that's super weird

That light shined on her again, and she felt...strange. Like something was being pulled from her, likely to Eri.

"Man, you're just full of cool tricks, huh? This magic stuff just goes right over my head."

(Hidden Stinger - 76)

She once again closed the distance, producing another needle and stabbing it through Eri's side, before quickly pulling it back out again, hitting the ground with that metallic ping.

"There was a little poison on that, but don't worry. As long as you keep your breathing regular and don't panic, it shouldn't affect you too much." she said in a hushed whisper. She knew those watching her wouldn't be listening in, so as long as they kept watching them fight, they wouldn't suspect a thing.

Zoe: 39
Eri: 29 + Arcane Fever: 2.5, Poison Stacks: 2

Eri felt the stinger pumping poison in her bloodstream but... Zoe told her to stay calm... She knew she could trust Zoe, she was so nice... So kind... So attrac- Eri shaked her head and did as she was told, remaining calm as she kept draining Zoe.

(Life Absorption: Continued)

Zoe: 38
Eri: 30 + AF: 3 + PS: 2

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She was starting to feel...a little woozy from the feeling. It was a serious headrush, that's for sure. She had to focus, make this look good if she was going to make sure she stayed safe.

...which involved hurting her herself. Huh.

(Brick Buster - 29)

She pulled another brick out of her hands but it slipped and flew clean across the alleyway, right over her head. This draining sensation was starting to get to her, make her head swimming. She needed to focus, but...something about it felt...really nice, though...

(-1 from DoT)

Zoe: 38
Eri: 29 + AF: 3 + PS: 1.5

The draining continued, countering the poison's effect on her, she had to pay attention as she didn't want to drain Zoe too much, while draining she kept staring at the kitsune... She felt her cheeks burning, at first she thought it was the fever but she noticed that her heart was racing as well.

(Life Absorption: Continued)

Zoe: 37
Eri: 30 + AF: 3.5 + PS: 1.5

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Okay, she really needed to focus. Slapping both of her cheeks to breathe some life into her, trying to psyche herself up (and trying really hard not to look at those really pretty eyes she gets distracted by), she...

(Cave-In - 18)

...extended one of the cable like claw hooks from her coat, grabbing a nearby barrel and chucking it at her, just slow enough that it shouldn't really hurt her but it would sting just a little as it collided with her and knocked her back.

(-1 from DoT)

Zoe: 37
Eri: 26 + AF: 3.5 + PS: 1, Knockback

The barrel didn't hurt much though it interrupted Eri's channeling as she was too distracted staring at Zoe to notice the incoming hit, falling to her butt, Eri didn't took long to get back on ger feet.

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If she wanted to make this really convincing to the guys upstairs, she'd have to do something crazy...this used to work in pit fights, but she wanted to see how far she could push this. Plus, she saw those looks that Eri was giving her.

(Taunt - 34)

She started loosening her collar a little, showing a bit of skin and occasional flashes of her top underneath. In truth, she was hot, mainly from that draining sensation and...whenever she looked at her, she got just a tiny bit hotter. But it was for the most part, an act, something she used against horny men in the arena all the time. Most of them barely learned from it, too.

It seemed to be having something of an effect on her, as Eri couldn't take her eyes off her. She barely noticed as Zoe got closer, and closer, before she delivered a swift (yet softer than usual, since she didn't really mean it) kick to the face, enough that it pushed her off of her feet.

"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure they believed that we were really fighting..."

(-1 from DoT)

Zoe: 37
Eri: 20 + AF: 3.5 + PS: 0.5

As Zoe loosen her collar, Eri couldn't avoid to stare at her, her heart racing like never before. She was so distracted by the display that didn't saw the kick coming "I-It's okay... I know you don't want to hurt me..." She said, still blushing she tried to create a magic circle but the images of Zoe in her mind didn't let her focus.

(Circle of Protection: 53)

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"Y-Yeah, we just have to make this go on for a little, and everything will be fine...I think. J-Just trust me, okay?"

Normally when she did a technique like that to some random loser, she hated the stares but simply used it to her advantage. This time, though? Something about that longing stare was...really nice. She couldn't explain it, though. It felt good when she did it to her. She stuffed these thoughts down, trying to keep them from distracting her.

(Hidden Stinger - 44)

She brought out another one of the needles from her sleeve and hurled it at her with one clean motion, it inserting into her abdomen before falling out on it's own.

"Remember what I told you about the poison, alright? Just focus and keep your breathing calm."

(-1 from DoT)

Zoe: 37
Eri: 16 + AF: 3.5 + PS: 2.0

Eri squeaked when the needle find it's way once more into her body, feeling once more the poison, Eri followed Zoe's instructions once more, remaining calm and keeper her breathing. She looked at the kitsune while firing a green bolt of energy at her, striking it's mark: Zoe's shoulder.

(Death Spark: 68)

Zoe: 34
Eri: 15 + AF: 3.5 + PS: 2.0

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She felt the green bolt that came out of Eri smack right into her shoulder, pushing her back a fair ways. It was like she had stuck that specific part of her body in a live outlet. Tingly, and a little numb, but fairly painful despite that.

(Mount - 23)

She attempted to rush at her to continue an assault, but she realized she was having trouble moving that arm. She had to take a moment to work out the feeling of numbness before she could do anything like that. While she was doing that, she noticed that Eri's face was kind of red. Exhaustion, maybe? It looked a lot closer to overheating. She looked out of breath, but she knows she didn't hit her THAT hard.

"H-Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

(-1 from DoT)

Zoe: 34
Eri: 14 + AF: 3.5 + PS: 1.5

Eri was trying to catch her breath when Zoe spoke, the redhead kitsune looked at her 'opponent' "Y-Yes... I'm fine, don't worry." Raising her hand, once again she aimed the red light at Zoe.

(Life Absorption: 44)

Zoe: 33
Eri: 15 + AF: 4 + PS: 1.5

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Her words didn't quite set her mind at ease, knowing that something was going on as they fought, but she decided to take her word for it for now. And then she felt that really nice light again. That soothing, warm feeling, that she knew was her taking life from her, but she couldn't deny how good it felt. She shook her head, trying to focus on the fight, which was...proving more and more difficult.

(Pocket Sand - 34)

She closed the gap between them, her hand in her pocket the whole time. "Remember what I told you earlier, alright?" she whispered as she sprayed the sand from her pocket aimed at Eri.

(-1 from DoT)

Zoe: 33
Eri: 12 + AF: 4 + PS: 1.0, Disadvantage

As she did before, Eri closed her eyes and acted like she didn't, interrupting the channeling once more. She started casting a spell but while doing the blinded act she actually tripped and fell to her butt.

(Flash Heal: 13, 11)

Zoe: 33
Eri: 12 + AF: 4 + PS: 1.0 + Stunned

She only sighed as she watched her trip over herself trying to cast spells. She walked over to her and pulled her up, their eyes meeting again. She really did have pretty eyes. She was...pretty, all over, really. Her line of work didn't really lend itself to having these kinds of feelings, so she was pretty out of sorts.

"I think we need to end this quick, we're both losing our cool fast." she whispered, before looking back into her gaze. Trying to be confident, despite the rose colored blush on her face.

(Mount - 44)

Without warning, she pushed the two of them down, with Zoe sitting over top of the downed Eri.

"Okay, we need to end this here. I'm going make it look like I'm beating you up, and you've got to really act it out, alright? It'll end with you "knocked out" and that should satisfy them up there. Ready?"

She started to swing at her at just the right angle that it would look like it was connecting, except not really, hoping that she would play along with the motions.

(-1 from DoT)

Zoe: 33
Eri: 9 + AF: 4 + PS: 0.5, Bind

The moment Zoe mounted Eri, the red fox was blushing to no limits. In the past she had found herself forced into this position, it was always scary, awful and she felt dirty afterwards... But now it was different she... Enjoyed having Zoe on top of her, she had to fake being beaten up but the warmth of Zoe's body kept her calm, as the 'punches' kept coming, Eri put on the act even begging loudly enough, making sure the ones watching them heard it until she was 'knocked out' and stopped.

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She barely noticed the blush on Eri's face, getting into the swing of things, and really happy to see how well she was acting. She was a natural at this!

She kept the rhythm going, Eri matching her movements perfectly, her cries of "agony" being loud and noticeable to the figures on top, before throwing both hands down on top of her in a finishing blow.

"Okay, that should be good. Do your best to stay down and act passed out, alright?" she whispered, before getting up and waving to the two figures on top. Slowly, they made their way down, long, spindly figures wrapped up tight in body covering cloaks.

"Well, what's your report?" said one of the figures, holding it's r's like a lizard.

"She seems to have a pretty decent amount of magical potential. Both for healing and for hurting others. She's rather frail physically, though. I think she's worth quite a bit to them."

"Good work subduing her, then. Her injuries seem minimal. She'll make a fine member of the house. We'll take it from here." the other said, moving to take her.

"HEY, Hey! You trying to take credit for my work? If you take her, I'm not getting anything outta that!" she said, producing another knife from her sleeve. Even if she wasn't high on the social ladder, they knew she was a hell of a fighter, and it'd need 50 of them to even come close to bringing her down.

He backed off, knowing it would be a bad idea. "Fine, fine. But don't dawdle, and don't keep the boss waiting." Both of them vanished back onto the streets, blending in with the crowds.

She waited a bit until they were out of sight and long gone. "...okay, Eri, they're gone. You can get up now." She went back to her and offered a hand up.

Eri opened her eyes and accepted Zoe's hand to get back on her feet "W-Who were they?" She asked before noticing some of the damage she did to her "A-Ah... Let me heal you..." She offered as she started to heal the other kitsune.

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"Informants. There's hundreds of 'em running around the city, keeping tabs on everyone but especially those that work in the underground, like me. No one really knows what they are, but they're definitely not fighters. And they know I'm definitely one." she said with a giggle and a cheeky smile.

As soon as she mentioned it, it was if the fatigue of the fight hit her all at once, and she collapsed a little onto the ground. "Y-Yeah, thanks. That's really cool that you can heal people like that. I think...I might be able to use that as leverage in there. Keep you safe with it."

Once she was done, she looked her in the eyes. "Eri, I promise you, I'm not gonna subject you t' the life I live. You don't deserve that. I'm gonna find a way to get ya outta there. I can probably pull a few strings to have you sneak out once we get settled in. I got connections on the inside, so I should probably be able to do that once things settle down."

Once she finish healing Zoe, she listened carefully to the kitsune, looking her in the eyes.

"I trust you, Zoe..." She said with a slight blush "But... I don't want to escape alone... I... I want you to come with me..." She added "You helped me and... I want to help you..." And be with you she thought.

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She couldn't bring herself to say no to this woman. Those eyes just melted her resolve whenever she looked at her. She couldn't stop a light blush herself.

"I-I'm in really deep, Eri. I don't know if...I'm ever going to find an out. I don't want you to suffer like I d-"

Wait a minute. Maybe this is exactly what she needed.

"Actually...no, this might be perfect. Bringing in a magic user like you would bring things in an uproar. They would trust me more, for the act of it. I think this might work. Yeah, there's a chance!" Her expression was one of a joy she hadn't had in years. There was a shot. It was small, but there was definitely a chance that both of them could leave this hellhole forever. Together.

"Okay, if we're gonna do this, I'll need you to trust me, okay? It might not be fast, and we might be stuck here for a little while. But, if I can build up enough clout with the harbor, along with the underground, we might actually have a shot at this. I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you."

She got up and pulled her up. "But, we shouldn't keep them waiting. We're going to have to play by their rules for a while, but it'll work out. I think."