Return to the Best (Cain)

[Cain]

"Well, everyone and their moms seem to have Qi around here, so I suppose we're in the right sort of place. Watch out for the guys who can shoot flame from their hands, we have a few of those."

Cain glanced up at Kate, his body completely frozen in shock as he stared at her, the straw wedged in between his lips, though no liquid was climbing. Fire-shooting people? Cain cursed in his head. He stood no chance against people who could attack from far-ranged without his Qi. After all, his Qi had been a far-ranged Qi, though Cain had learned to develop it into that of a versatile ability that could also be used on close-combat. Of course, he no longer had his Qi, so he would indeed be in a great advantage. And speaking of flame, Cain wondered who the owner was.

"How exactly... did you loose your Qi?"

The question snapped Cain out of his chain of thoughts as he focused on the question instead. How did Cain lose his Qi? Well, it was simple, really. It just stopped working.

"Well, I was practicing with a friend of mine, using our Qi to battle each other, when it suddenly just stopped working. No matter how hard I tried, or however I tried, I could no longer use my Qi. So, I just figured that I had lost it somehow."

[Kate]

He had just up and lost his Qi. Weird. One eyebrow rose as Kate sipped her raspberry smoothie into death. She placed the empty container next to her on the table top and thought about it some more. What could make a person just up and loose a Qi?

"There's lots of people with weird Qis. Maybe one of them would have the answer to your problem. Though to be honest, I have Qi, and now I'm rather scared I'll loose mine. If I do... it's gunna honestly suck."

She gave a nervous little chuckle. She'd start loosing some fights she otherwise would win. Snake woman movement gave her an easy way to deal with people up close and personal, the way she liked to deal with people. Kate licked her lips, and lifted her hand. Signaling that the smoothie person should bring her another smoothie.

Kate kinda had a "tab" running here.

[Cain]

"There's lots of people with weird Qis. Maybe one of them would have the answer to your problem. Though to be honest, I have Qi, and now I'm rather scared I'll loose mine. If I do... it's gunna honestly suck."

It would? Cain looked at her blankly for a moment, wondering as to why she would say as such. Was her Qi really that important, or effective, or dangerous? What was it like? Was it a defensive Qi, or an offensive Qi? He was about to inquire about her Qi, when she turned away suddenly, facing the bar instead. Raising her hand, Cain got curious as he glanced over at the bar. It seemed that she had gotten the man's attention, and nodded his head in return to Kate's raised hand. What? Ordering? Was this not a go-and-serve shop? Wow. Cain turned back to Kate.

"Anyway, if you don't mind me asking, what's your Qi like?"

He continued to sip on his mango smoothie, ten more attempts to the end of the drink, wedging the pink straw in between his lips. Ah, the taste of mango and milk. It was certainly divine.

[Kate]

Kate knew that this conversation was going to head to where it currently was. After stating the fact that she did have Qi meant he was going to ask after all. The question was should she give him the answer or not? Because having an ace up your sleeve was always a good thing. But then again people already knew what her Qi was and all... So why the hell not?

A moment's interruption as the smoothie guy placed a smoothie in front of her before walking off, but Kate was ready to show him exactly what she could do. But how? Her head? That would be side show creepy.... better stick with the hand. That was only mildly creepy.

She smiled sweetly, then lifted her right hand to show him. All the bones began to move within her hand. Rather, dislocate and rotate. Lots of snaps and pops could be heard as this happened, and not an ounce of pain was registered on her face.

"I can do this, except... everywhere."

Let him think on that one.

[Cain]

Saying that Cain was excited to see Kate's Qi was pretty much a bit of an understatement. He was beyond excited. He just did not show it, as the blue-haired junior focused completely on her then, wanting to know as much about her Qi as possible. He never knew when he might have to fight her in the future, and having a brief idea of what her Qi was like would help him quite a bit. Even the interruption of the arrival of Kate's new smoothie did not faze his attention, his eyes locked with Kate's as he waited for the demonstration.

At that, she displayed her hand, Cain's attention diverted towards it as he wondered what Qi she had. Was it elemental-based? If it was the hand, and she was going to demonstrate it by just showing, it was either fire or lightning, then. However, if it was not elemental-based? Well, the possibilities were limitless then.

And suddenly, her hand started to deform. Not the skin though, just the shape of the hand. Her fingers jerked forward and back, as if not restricted at all by the position of her joints. The bones in her hand were dislocating and relocating themselves, without the help of any outside forces, on their own. Cain's eyes widened in shock as he almost choked on her mango smoothie. It was grotesque, so to say.

"... Wow. That was... Creepy..."

And everywhere? Oh boy. The first thought that came to his mind was "Good luck to grapplers.", but more logical thoughts came after words. Like... How the fuck can she handle that?

"Isn't it painful?"

[Kate]

Nerd time? Maybe. She smirked slightly, snapping her hand back into the place that it should have been. Through pain she gained power. Through power victory. And through victory her chains were broken. Something like that right? It was the Sith word of law, or something to that degree. She wasn't that much of a nerd.

"You get use to it."

She chuckled at the look on his face. Grapplers really didn't have much on her, at all. Considering exactly how far she could move all her joints and things when she had to. The blonde just kept on grinning, enjoying this for a moment.

"You're turn, what was your Qi?"

Just in case he got it back, of course. Kate liked to know these sorts of things before hand. That much was for sure! The blonde lifted on eyebrow and waited for an answer. She really would like to know this.

[Cain]

"You get use to it."

Cain wondered if he ever could. He was not a grappler, so he was not used to the dreading feeling that came upon hearing bones snapping, dislocating and cracking. He was more of a striker, and more used to the sound of flesh hitting flesh, the sound of grunts upon impact and the ringing of his body whenever he made a solid hit. As for the pure cracking of bones, though, that was a different story. He grinned awkwardly in return, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as he looked at his drink. Upon seeing that, he wondered if he would still have the appetite to eat later.

"You're turn, what was your Qi?"

Cain looked up at Kate. His Qi? Oh, his Qi. The Azure Claws, as Cain had named it. He smirked upon thinking of it, before placing his elbow on the table, raising his right hand, his palm facing the ceiling and his wrist facing him. At that, he curved his fingers, making them seem like claws. With an excited smirk, he finally answered the question.

"Well, I can't demonstrate to you, but I can try explaining it. Basically, I can refine my Qi into thin fine strips which I could then use to claw my opponents with from afar. And since it is my Qi, it can cut through flesh and wood, though I only reached the level where I could only chip concrete or steel walls. I can slice apart steel bars, though. In short, I can claw you apart ten meters away, without even touching you, with just a swing of my arm."

If she understood that, that is.

[Kate]

The girl just stared at him as he explained his Qi. It sounded rather beastly. As in, you had better get up close and personal quick unless you wanted to be torn apart. She licked her lips and really thought about it. That Qi was a good one to have until someone like herself came up close and personal. Then it would be harder, wouldn't it?

"That sounds like it would hurt something fierce."

Hey, she was speaking the truth at least. It was something Kate would almost always do. Almost. There had been some moments when a lie had been better said then the truth. Anyways, Kate arched a single blonde brow and just smirked a bit.

"Must have really gotten you down when you lost it. Maybe it's something in the water around here? I really didn't find mine until I moved here."

Here being back in good ole Cali. She had moved one city since moving back, but coming to Cali had opened up her "abilities" a bit. The blonde had wondered if it was something in the air.