[quote=@Liaison]
[i][color=f7941d]An orchestra of rattling pots and pans erupted from the kitchen as Victoria scavenged for the right size. Intending to make the perfect cat treats for when Mr. Whiskers came back, like any nine-year-old left unattended in a kitchen, she created an absolute mess whisking a battery concoction. Debatably edible, it was filled with random things with no rhyme or reason other than the child's personal preference on what tasted good. Wrapped up in child-like joy, the heiress, for a moment felt relieved of the stress of the situation as she tasked away, failing to notice the woman slip right into the kitchen behind her. Despite the friendly tone, Victoria shrieked. The second two eerily familiar hands touched her back, PTSD from the last time someone got behind her triggered a fight-or-flight response.

Tossed was the multicolored batter of who knows what over the girl's shoulder. The nine-year-old snatched herself out of Ryuko's grip, falling on her butt as she turned around. Unsure if she hit the stranger or not until she got a good look at her, Victoria was puzzled with the sight of some Blasian woman bowing, sincerely apologizing. Wide-eyed, the girl had a simple question. “Who are you?”


…The rumble could be felt as far as the quarters where Ryuko and Victoria were stationed. After the dust settled...[/color][/i]

[/quote]


		It was tough to describe the effects of combat drugs on her reaction speed—she knew the batter was going to fly at her before she knew it. She twisted and leaned backwards. Not a single drop would've landed on her, except on the finger she raised specifically to catch some of the batter.

	Like a game of horseshoes, she ended up catching the whole bowl. Batter spiraled out in a sheet. Now her left arm was covered in it. A lot of her was covered in it.

	Turning the bowl upright in her other hand, she looked down at the little girl. The violent response had only delayed her words and caused her to change her tone to be even softer and gentler.

	"I'm Ryuko."  She deepened the bow of her head to show she meant no harm. How to make her less afraid...

	"I heard you talking to my friend Mr. Whiskers," she lied, and she was a damn good liar. She stuck her finger in her mouth. "Mm! Your batter tastes delicious!"  It tasted okay. It was the expected quality for a child.

	She set the bowl down on the floor, kneeling before her to make herself small to the girl; She leaned forward as well, placing her un-battered hand on her knee for support, though she didn't need it. "It's nice to meet you, Veronica. I'm sure we'll become great friends."

	It wasn't long before a rumble reached the room. Ryuko sat up and turned as she rose. She grabbed Victoria's hand and led her out to the main room to look out the balcony. Smoke, and fighting. Energy weaponry.

	They needed to leave.

	Once again, Victoria's dignity was dispensable to Ryuko, though now not entirely, as she had a friendship to keep up. She scooped the girl up in her right arm, swatting her left at the curtains to wipe off the batter before swapping her over to it, then clutched her tight and ran to the balcony. She leapt, clawed the ledge—

	She swung down to the lip of the balcony, then swung off it to the exterior wall. Her metal digits sparked as she scraped down the side of the building. The wind lifted her curls. Lifted them faster. Even faster. [i]This wall is slipperier than I thought![/i] The balcony below approached dangerously fast.

	Probably a suicidal move in Victoria's eyes, she kicked away from the wall, flying past the rails—now it'd be the [i]ground[/i] they would slam into.

	Until Ryuko, arms together to tap the touchscreen, stuck her right arm out towards that balcony's underside. [i]TWU-WEEEEEW.[/i] Cord spilled from her wrist and a grapnel thwacked the stone. They bungeed into the wall feet-first. Now Ryuko was squatting against the luxurious surface, cradling Victoria on top of her body. "You're safe, don't flail around," she ordered. She spared a glance to the balcony far below. "Two or three more to go... Let's do that again."

	Perhaps the easiest of the combat drugs' effects to convey was that it made you a little [b]crazy[/b]. Ryuko was gaining a bit of an adrenaline rush from this. The compound-laden rush was clouding her sense of self-preservation just a bit and tinting her emotional quotient gray and dry. She wouldn't just drop Victoria, of course—the "new best friend" act, on the other hand...