...and she was leaning against a wall, arms folded in front of her, narrowed eyes watching the dark silhouette steadily make its way up the road.

The villagers did not know why the foreign woman had appeared in their hamlet, nor did they ask. True, she was female, unarmed, and armored only in wool and silk- but her thick, tattooed arms and cold stare were answer enough for most. A strange kind of thug, alright, but the rule remained the same: stay away, mind your own business, and you probably won't get hurt.

Probably.

As with any rule, there are exceptions. Like that big man in black, walking up just now. He was only passing through, not even stopping on the way, and yet his arrival triggered a change in the muscular woman. She had been still, solid as a rock, but now her burly arms unfolded. One reached behind her, and emerged holding a long loop of steel chain weighted with a small block of metal at either end. The other swung at her side as she stepped out from her resting place, her eyes never leaving the man in black. As he came within thirty feet, she planted her feet in the middle of the street, straight in his path.

"You are the Cat Skull?" Her voice was deep, her tone bored. The chain in her hands clinked as she unwound it, one weighted end now dangling from her right hand. If her expression was any indication, she didn't much care whether her question was answered one way or another, or even at all. He looked tough enough. He would do.

@Doc Doctor

Original timeline (#1):

The man stopped, introducing himself, and Tekla Pavlovna raised an eyebrow. Either this one was far pettier than he appeared, or he was stalling for time, trying to get her guard down. Perhaps he meant to take her by surprise? Or perhaps he was just waiting for the right moment to try and run. Pride demanded she answer him, but common sense kept her from getting wrapped up in conversation.

“In these lands, I do not have a name. They do not know me here.” She stepped forwards with her left foot, fiddling with the chain in her hands. “But since you ask very nicely, I can tell you what my name will be.” She gripped one weighted end with her left, letting the other dangle about three feet down from her right. “After today, Cat Skull, they will call me Skull Breaker.”

With that, she began to amble towards him, slowly closing the distance between them. If he didn’t react or interrupt her, she’d come within fifteen feet.

A dangerous distance, as Catskull would already be learning elsewhere.

Alternate timeline (#2):

The man drew his weapon, carrying on implacably towards her. As she’d thought, he wasn’t one for words. Tekla stepped forwards with her left foot, fiddling with the chain in her hands. She gripped one weighted end with her left, letting the other dangle about three feet down from her right. In this manner she waited, letting her opponent come to her.

At least, until he began the stride that would bring them within fifteen feet of one another.

It was then that she pushed off her left foot and lunged forwards with her right. Her right arm snapped out, right elbow swinging ahead of her before fully extending, throwing the free end of the chain forwards her opponent. Her left arm came forwards as the weapon flew, keeping the chain from going taut before it reached its target.

It was like a striking snake, so smooth and swift the eye could barely track it. Nine feet long, moving forwards and slightly leftwards so that the weight and the last foot of chain spun around Catskull’s leading right leg as it came down, wrapping it tight. Before he came anywhere near close enough to use his sword, he’d be ensnared- and Tekla would waste no time in yanking the chain back, pushing off her bent right leg and using her whole body’s strength to try and haul his right foot forwards and upwards, ruining his balance and bringing him crashing to the ground.

@Doc Doctor

Tekla #2 raised an eyebrow as Catskull’s sword came down and stopped her chain short of ensnaring its intended target. Not bad. The man came forwards, and she backed away, pushing off her right foot and transitioning from there into a quick series of retreating steps. The distance between them would close slightly, but not enough to bring her within reach of his sword. As things stood, she had the range advantage, and she wasn’t going to let go of it so easily.

The slack meant she couldn’t bring her chain rushing back for an immediate follow-up, but she still had her hands, and they worked quickly to draw it in. Once it was free of the sword she’d pull it back, spinning it once to build up momentum before letting its length loose again, this time in a wide overhead arc that would bring it hurtling down towards Catskull’s head from above.

Tekla #4, meanwhile, was lagging slightly behind #2, though her eyebrow rose slightly higher as Catskull defended, and she seemed to smile a little. This one’s movements are masterful. She retreated in much the same manner as her counterpart #2, before proceeding with the same attack, though there was a slight difference- she moved just a little faster, filled with adrenaline by the thrill of meeting such a skilled opponent.

The other two Teklas were just making their opening strikes. Tekla #1, unimpressed by a man who seemed to be nothing but talk, would stride into range before attacking with a similar movement to #2 and #4’s initial attempts to entangle their opponent’s leg. This one, however, was aimed higher: roughly at chest level, meant to strike him hard in the ribs with the weight at the end of the chain, bringing his rant to a premature end.

Tekla #3 diverged the most, reacting strongly to Catskull’s change of armaments. She made no attempt to rush him, but struck before #1 on account of her opponent’s own forward movement. Rather than lunge, she swung her right arm gently forwards, a movement too slow to be an attack in and of itself. Then her grip loosened, and she snapped out with a crisp, powerful kick from her right leg. She was much too far away for this to hit Catskull, but he wasn’t the intended target- rather, she kicked the dangling weight on the end of her chain, shooting it straight towards Catskull’s head, aiming to smack him with a concussive blow before he could bring his shield up.

There! Tekla #2 spied an opening as Catskull dodged to her right. He hadn’t been entirely ready for her attack, and while it wasn’t enough to make him lose his balance, it was a sign that he was cracking. Her retreat was slightly slower than his advance, putting them at a little less than her maximum range, and that would close more if she wasn’t careful. She needed to hit him now, before he could recover his focus.

She guided her weapon even as it swung down where Catskull had been, controlling its descent. When the falling weight bounced violently off the road, she immediately flicked the chain rightwards, so that the rebound swung towards her opponent's legs to entangle him. With the attack coming so soon after her previous one, and from a likely unexpected angle, she’d have a better shot at snagging him this time.

In an adjacent timeline, however, there was no opening.

Any good fighter could try and anticipate their enemy’s moves, to some extent, but Catskull seemed to have predictive abilities Tekla #4 could only dream of. Could this be sorcery? Or was he just a prodigy? What little she’d heard about him suggested the former, but right now she didn’t have time to ponder- he was closing too fast, her attacks barely slowing him down as he sprinted forwards.

The sight filled her with a mixture of excitement and fear, and she let it show. Her eyes narrowed, worry flickering across her features, and her right hand fumbled and dropped the chain before she could fully draw it in.

He predicted correctly: she did try and take him by surprise as he came within two meters of her arm’s reach. Her retreat suddenly stopped, her back leg bent and her right arm hanging low near her side while her left hand swung upwards, throwing the weight she’d held and a few loops of chain at his head. Abandoning her weapon entirely, in a wild act of desperation.

Emphasis on ‘act.’

Tekla #3 frowned at Catskull’s strange use of the rapier and started retreating - but more slowly than the others had, letting him come closer without quite giving him full control over their distance. Rather than immediately striking again with her chain, she began to loop it loosely around her left arm. For some reason this one had changed tactics, though what her plan might be now remained to be seen.

Tekla #1, however, was feeling less patient. With her first strike missing him just barely, she whipped her chain efficiently back and stepped forwards with her left foot. “Why do you even carry a sword-" She swung it overhead, slamming it down at him from above as she stepped forwards with her right. “-if you only fight with your tongue?”