161/You and Me and - the Catra In the Room

You and Me and - the Catra In the Room
Date of Scene:	27 July 2023
Location:	Kaoru's Donuts
Synopsis:	Chiyo's got questions after her 'borrowed' dress turns back into her old one in the drycleaners - and Usagi doesn't particularly want to give answers. And hey, what's Catra doing in the background there...?
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Chiyo Sakai, Catra

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Okay, so, Usagi hasn't been having the worst summer ever. If she doesn't think about all the fighting, the monsters, the people who want to kill her for things she either didn't do or didn't ask for and - well! The point is. She's not having the worst summer ever, really, because she's made a lot of new friends, and her new school isn't the worst place on the planet, and... and there are donuts.

Yeah, that's about all Usagi has for this not being the worst summer ever. But on the plus side? Kaoru's donut stand is great, and in the summer, there's no after school rush, which is a huge plus. Plus, today the mobile stand is in the shade for once, so the summer sun isn't terribly bright.

Really, it's almost like nothing's wrong at all!

"Chiyo-chan! Hey, there you are! I'm over here! I'm in line for us!" Usagi calls upon catching sight of her friend, waving an arm with enough eager energy that her fellow patrons inch away in fear of getting smacked.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
It's a good thing that Usagi caught sight of her to call out because Chiyo was... not one to really yell across the street like that. She does lift her hand to wave at her friend while simply standing there a moment more. Her other hand held onto the hanger of a garment bag which was slung back over her shoulder in a way that was more like how a man might carry a suit. It was a long bag though, probably a full length dress of some sort, so it kept the end from dragging on the ground. The bag itself was just a simple black with the logo of the drycleaner on it, zipped up to keep it's contents nice and safe and tidy.

Dressed casually herself in a sundress and some slip on shoes that looked fairly comfortable she was set for the hot weather of Summer. A purse is slung cross-style over her chest and shoulder so the chance of losing it is slim.

Not one to break the 'jaywalking' rule she waits until the light changes before hurrying across to meet up with Usagi at the donut cart. Looking a little flustered, she flashes a smile to her friend. "Sorry to keep you waiting Usagi-chan." Her gaze flits to the cart, then back to Usagi, as she grows oddly quiet. "Maybe we should get a snack and step aside to talk."

Catra has posed:
Catra is starting to get the feeling that living in Tokyo is going to be a bit of a challenge for an obligate carnivor. She's a cat, afterall; her daily meat intake needs to be non-zero at minimum. Why couldn't she have ended up in New York? Apparently they have hot dog stands regularly enough that you can trip over them. But here? Well sushi seems alright but she isn't sure she can live on it.

So what to do while thinking about it? Hang around disguised as human, American chick with an obvious lousy attitude and think about it. She's currently hiding under her own illusion, or at least one that was given to her, looking like your standard white tourist with an old hoodie drawn low over her head, stuffing her face with a chocolate donut.

The yell to beckon Chiyo gets her attention, though; she thumbs her iPod to drop the volume and pulls one of her earbuds so she can listen in, and pushes off from the wall she'd been leaning up against so she can go stand in line behind Usagi. Well, behind the person behind Usagi.

In so doing she cuts in line in front of a couple people, but just answers their protest with a glare and a rude hand gesture she learned literally yesterday. What? She wants another donut. What's your problem anyway?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
What with it being summer, the weather is warm, and Usagi is dressed in one of her favorite summery outfits - a pale pink halter top and black miniskirt combo, matched with sensible pink sneakers. What? She likes to match! And besides, the last time she wore this outfit - well, she'd like to rewrite the memories, if that's not too much to ask.

She's patient as Chiyo joins her, keeping their space in line as she watches Chiyo wait to safely cross. No jaywalking for her conscientuous friend, she guesses. It's honestly pretty cute.

Someone cuts in line, earning a few muttered protests, and Usagi peeks back, taking note of a foreign girl making a rude gesture. Her brows rise, but hey, if it's a donut emergency...

"Aw, no worries Chiyo-chan, it's nothing! One of us had to get here first, right?" There's nothing to worry about, but Chiyo-chan looks a little - "Oh, is that the dress in there?"

Huh. That bag is kind of nice, she didn't have to go through all that trouble! "Of course! There's some park benches in the shade, they'll be perfect."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai glances back at the line as she approaches realizing that Usagi was... holding her spot in line? Was that allowed? A quick breath is taken to gather up the courage to do such a bold thing as she walks past the others right up to Usagi. She does stay to the outside of the line though. Just to make sure she's not IN the line doing exactly what that foreigner woman apparently does.

"Oh, the benches are fine, Usagi-chan. And this is the dress, yes, but..." The words falter as they try to come out, her eyebrows drawing together. "It, ah, there's something... Wrong... with it." Again she tries to smile reassuringly as she quickly adds, "Get your order and I can meet you there to show you. We can talk," she reitterates as if this were the most important thing. Period.

Catra has posed:
Catra hates this planet. Why does she have to hide her appearance? Seriously this sucks. The man behind her makes some sort of protest about her rude gesture, and if anyone were paying attention to her facial expression, for a moment it might look like murder is imminent. Teeth certainly get ground, eyebrows adopt the angry position, and she half-turns, like she's about to remove face from skull.

But, just as quickly, it passes and she doesn't bother turning on the guy, just keeps her place in line. Or is it technically his? Well, she's got it now so unless he wants to remove her from it physically, it doesn't seem like she's going anywhere, as she munches on the portion of donut she still has.

Oh but the people in front have a dress that doesn't work. Or it's wrong, somehow. How does a dress end up being wrong and not working? That's at least non-boring, so Catra moves up uncomfortably into the space of the person in front of her, so she can listen in a bit better. And hey, if they don't like it, they can go stand somewhere else.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Something went... wrong with it? Here's the thing, Usagi is an open book. Just, fully transparent. No hiding anything that appears on her face, not even a little bit, and so when she puts two and two together and gets uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, it shows fully on her face. Just, fully visible all over her face.

"R-right," she says weakly. "I hope it didn't, ah, rip."

Darien once tried to teach her to lie. He was not very successful.

Usagi swallows, forcing herself to rally. "Alright! We'll get out donuts and then we'll - talk."

She notices the other person moving closer, but, considering the dirty look that guy was giving her for cutting in line? Usagi can't blame the girl for wanting to be further away from him. The line is moving pretty quickly at least, so it's fine, right?

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Ah.. You'll see." Chiyo shouldn't be speaking of it right now to begin with, not with people nearby. The press of others closing in causes her to shiver a little fighting the urge to step away. Usually she was the one to give ground before anyone else. "I'll uh..." Her hand gestures over toward the bench. "I'll be there."

Chiyo starts to turn away only t pause, and request, "Um, if you could get me a cinnamon donut? I can pay you back," she hastens to add. "I just don't want to take up more space in the line, so uh..." Red-faced she turns to walk awkwardly over to the bench where she sits down laying the dress bag in her lap. Sitting. Waiting.

Catra has posed:
Catra sighs inwardly. Tease about something that might be amusing, and then draw it out? People are so frustrating. Life was definitely better when she was Force Captain and could push around anyone she wanted. Well, except Hordak, but she was working up to that.

So currently she's reduced to waiting in line for a donut that doesn't meet her dietary needs while waiting for two girls of dubious importance to get around to discussing what went wrong with a dress.

Well, whatever, it's something to do, so she polishes off the donut she already has, thumbs up the volume on her iPod to a more obnoxious level (she's listening to Korn, it turns out) and waits for something more interesting to happen.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oh no. Oh no, this isn't happening. It isn't, right? She can deny it? There's no proof? Just because Chiyo-chan says something happened and wants to talk privately and is obviously nervous -

"Of course I'll get you one! Don't worry about it, you let me try all those yummy sweets before, I can get you a donut!"

She's definitely not rambling because she's nervous. That's not happening here at all. Why would she be nervous?

And then Chiyo's gone to wait and Usagi is numbly waiting in line, worrying, because - but nope! Not thinking that thought even in the privacy of her own head! If she thinks it, it will come true!

There's no way Chiyo-chan found her dis-

Hey, hey, thoughts, she said no.

This internal argument gets Usagi through the rest of the line, and through ordering their donuts too - a dozen donut holes with different flavors plus a sakura mochinut for Usagi and a cinnamon donut for Chiyo, plus a fortifying milk tea. Once everything is in her hands, she rushes over, trying to tell herself that literally anyhing could have happened besides the illusion pen she definitely isn't supposed to have malfunctioning or something and revealing to Chiyo that she's got weird magic stuff she isn't supposed to have.

"Here's the donuts! So uh, what happened with the dress, did it tear, because that's totally okay -"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Was this the right thing to do? She knew something was up, clearly, her thoughts had been running around since she picked up the dress. Between the oddity of this and what she had learned the other night speaking to Madoka and that foreigner... It was all suspicious. Very suspicious.

Her gaze lifts to watch Usagi make her way over trying to offer as reassuring a smile as she can. At least they were far enough away that no one could overhear! She hoped. No one without inhuman hearing perhaps.

"Usagi..." She begins only to pause and clear her throat lightly. "You took my dress, and let me borrow one of yours. I took yours to the dry cleaner, but..." The zipper is grasped to tug down revealing the fluff of a FAR TOO PINK dress popping out of the garment bag. "It's the original dress I picked up. How...?" She looks to Usagi questioningly, eyes pleading for some kind of an explanation.

"It can't be a trick. It's too much like... like magic."

Catra has posed:
Catra gets her turn to order, sort of anyway, and asks for another one of those chocolate donuts (living up, no doubt, to some kind of stereotype about people with no taste) and chocolate milk. The whole concept of chocolate milk is something entirely new, afterall. Shadow Weaver certainly never let her have anything fun like that. Pfft.

With her food and drink, Catra moves to take a seat at a park bench as near to where Usagi and Chiyo are sitting as she can. And she dials up the Korn a bit, as she pulls the hoodie she's wearing down low over her head, and drops the illusion she's wearing to conceal herself. It only results in her face becoming visible, really; well, and her hands, but is anyone really gonna notice that her skin has gone a tan color? Seriously, is anyone even looking?

Her ears flick under the hoodie, and she takes the time to enjoy what she's eating, while absolutely evesdropping on the other two girls and their dresses. Or rather just one dress that's turned into a different dress. That's a bit more interesting.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oh no.

Oh no, it is exactly what she was afraid of. How is she going to explain - wait. Wait. Oh no.

"You took it to the - was - did they find anything else with it?!"

Oh no, oh no, if she lost her disguise pen at a dry cleaner's because she loaned it out at the dance Luna was going to kill her.

"I'll explain everything, really," she really doesn't want to, "But I have to know if there was anything else with the dress, it's really important!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Ah. AH. Something else. For a moment a pang of guilt runs through Chiyo as she probably should have led with all the information she had gathered from her trip to the dry cleaners. Poor Usagi's reaction was certainly telling though. It was very reminiscent of someone who had just been caught with something very important. Her suspicions deepen.

Though, Usagi had been trying to help her. She'd been a very good friend. If she HAD used some sort of magic then it was just horrible of her to drag it out like this.

"I'm sorry," Chiyo begins which may just make Usagi's heart plummet. She turns her attention to the purse slung at her side to dip her hand inside withdrawing what appears to be a pen with a jewel shaped topper. "They found this, too, and returned it to me. I didn't mean to scare you, Usagi-chan, I'm sorry."

Catra has posed:
Mismatched eyes peer out from beneath Catra's hoodie, as she listens to the conversation and watches as the jeweled pen is finally revealed. She slurps at her drink, and watches, piecing together an evaluation or wether or not it's worth her time.

At least it's got a jewel on it, that's... shiny, at least. The item that other girl had came advertized as an ancient relic, but turned out just to be an ancient make-up container with 500 year old mascara or something in it.

Catra had promptly binned it after that. Somewhere in town there's a public rubbish bin with an irreplacable artifact in it.

Catra is not about to have her existence reduced to petty thievery, but then... well, there *is* a jewel on it. Maybe it'll be worth it. And she still has a couple mouthfuls of donut left.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
That I'm sorry sends Usagi's heart plummeting to her ankles, a wrenching horror and dread that has her stifling a whimper. Luna is going to claw her face -

And then Chiyo digs a pen - the pen - out of her purse, holding it out, and the relief is so great that Usagi slumps against the table and remembers how to breathe.

"As long as they found it," she manages to wheeze eventually, clutching her chest dramatically. "It's okay, you totally didn't scare me."

Usagi.

"Okay, you scared me a little'. I, um, there's - there's not a particularly innocent explanation for all this, is there?"

Gulp.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai still grasps the pen in hand while watching Usagi's expression shift and change in such a way. Really, she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, pressing this point. She could have just swept it under the rug. Pretended she never opened the dress bag after getting it from the dry cleaners. She would always suspect but she could have pretended.

A small breath is let out in a faint sigh. Tipping the pen toward Usagi she offers her friend a reassuring smile as it's offered back. "It's okay. You were trying to help me out, right? I haven't known you very long, but you've always been a very good friend."

"That was pretty risky to do though." Another smile is offered. "I guess this is yours?"

Catra has posed:
Catra thumbs the iPod to turn off the Korn, and stuffs fully half the donut in her mouth all in one go, giving her the appearance more of a chipmunk than anything else. She restores her illusion too, as she stands up and stretches, tilting her head from one side to the other and making the bones crack as she does it.

With chocolate milk in hand, she turns to meander off; or rather, meander along behind the bench where Chiyo and Usagi are sitting. But she's just an ordinary girl, right? Sure, an impolite one, but she's American so who's going to think twice about that, while she's busy trampling the grass.

Naturally, she has the pen with the jewel on it in sight. Just gotta pick the right moment to stir up some trouble. To that end, she's not exactly hurrying in her step; it's hardly as if she's got anywhere to be.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The pen isn't really the most important thing. Okay, well, to Luna it's probably the most important thing, and it's not-not an important thing, but - well, to Usagi the most important thing was if Chiyo was going to freak out. Going to get upset with her. Blame her, maybe, for being friends with her even though she's a magical girl and weird stuff keeps happening around her.

You know, normal stuff to blame local weird Sailor Senshi for.

The fact that she hands the pen back? Usagi does reach out to take it, but her relieved smile and laugh is for Chiyo's smile. "You really, really hated that dress."

And that's honestly all she's got to say on the subject of risk. "It is. Thank you so much keeping hold of it. I didn't even think about you washing it."

Which, yes, she definitely should have. And hopefully dry cleaning hadn't done something to the pen, because Luna could still kill her.

Her hand closes around the pen, goes to take it back, safe and sound.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"It was so awful," Chiyo agrees with a glance back down to the pile of neon pink fluff poking out from the garment bag, and begins to stuff it back inside to rezip the bag. It drops her gaze away from both Usagi and any approaching individuals that might be looking to cause trouble and steal a shiny object.

"I've... seen some stuff myself, around the city, so. I mean." She risks looking back to Usagi again with another faint smile. "I won't ask more if you don't want me to. Or at least not while we're outside," she decides after a moment giving an awkward laugh at the very thought. Yes, let's talk about magical transformations while out in public.

Rising from her spot on the bench she turns to face Usagi, putting her back to Catra, as she focuses on her friend. "If you want to, of course, I'll listen, I just..." All she can really do is shrug. She had her own secrets and she'd only recently been found out by another. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to tell Usagi though. As the thoughts are muddled over she's standing in a perfect spot to perhaps be pushed or bumped into, or any number of other things that could cause a distraction.

Catra has posed:
A hand shoots out and makes a grab right between Chiyo and Usagi, and snatches the jewelled pen; Catra's no professional thief but she's at least used to choosing a good moment and using the element of surprise, as it were. She takes a step back, and holds it up to look at it, then back at the two girls on the bench.

Run away instantly, and miss an opportunity to be superior? Never.

"What's this?" she inquires, in her most saccharine tone of voice. She puts her lips to the straw and slurps, making it gurgle intentionally, before tossing the empty drink off to the side. Littering!

"Looks expensive. And important. And you almost *lost it*. How careless, maybe I should just keep it for you."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's Chiyo, admitting what they both know - not just that the dress was ugly, but that things are weird in Tokyo, weirder than the world had ever seemed just a short while before, and awkwardly agreeing that they shouldn't say anything else. Usagi doesn't know if Chiyo has secrets of her own, like Ikiko-chan had, or if she's more like Naru-chan, always getting into trouble, but, once she's put the pen away, they can go -

The pen is not in her hand.

Usagi stares at her empty hand for a second, baffled and even a little offended at the state of it's emptiness. But just for a second, before she's swiveling around, and facing -

"It's a pen. And it's mine," Usagi snaps, making a grab for her disguise pen. It's one thing to lose it because she goofed, another thing to have it stolen. "Give it back!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai wasn't expecting the arm that shoots between the two in the least, much less the girl that snags the pen away from Usagi. Whe whirls around stepping to the side giving Usagi plenty of room to try to retreive the pen from the theif. Even she has to blurt out, "That's not yours! Give it back!" though her voice doesn't really rise much. She always was soft spoken to the point that now with her 'yelling' it was more like just... Raising her voice a bit.

The garment bag housing the horrible dress is abandoned with a quick toss to send it back to the bench, either for retreival later or for some other poor soul to find and deal with. Right now that was the least important thing. Right now it was getting Usagi's pen back--

Chiyo's eyes widen staring at Catra holding the pen with a rather sudden plumenting sensation in her stomach. The pen was magic. That she knew. Somehow, someway, it was magic. It hadn't occured to her until *just this moment* that it might be the item that Usagi uses to transform into... whoever she transformed into. Just like she had her Magical Saiboshi cooking chopsticks. If that were Usagi's means, then right now it was being held hostage and Usagi wouldn't be able to do... *anything*. Her friend had loaned her something that important which was now stolen all because SHE couldn't just give it back to her normally at her dorm or somewhere safe.

Guilt. Panic. What should she do!?

Catra has posed:
"Finders keepers," Catra replies in a lazy tone of voice. "And I found it." She flips the pen around her hand, walks it across her knuckles, and catches it again. "Pretty sure that makes it mine! ...Give it back? Why would I do *that*?" She casually tucks it away up her sleeve, and shrugs her shoulders. "Give what back?"

The disguised feline leans in close, peering at the two girls with mismatched eyes (blue and green), something even the illusion device can't quite account for. "Consider this a free lesson in not being an idiot."

Catra straightens, and turns to saunter off, lifting a hand to wave. "Laters," she drawls, giving her best, most convincing impression of an American accent (she's been practicing). It's not entirely spot on, but she's... mostly there. "Keep your sparkly toys better guarded next time, girls. Thanks for the pen."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi hadn't thought the other girl, rude and mean as she'd been and now a thief of all things, would give back her pen - but she also hadn't thought she'd just shove it up her sleeve and try to walk away!

Who does that?

The question isn't actually that important - what's important is that Usagi cannot let some strange American wander off with her disguise pen. Even if she couldn't use it, it was still important! And Luna would definitely, absolutely, certainly kill her in her sleep if she ever admitted what happened. And with the fear of Luna in her heart, her usual cowardice is long gone. There's only this stranger turning her back on them, mocking them like they're stupid -

and maybe Usagi's a little mad about that too. Mad enough to hop up, stumbling only a little to get up and over the bench - and leap right for the stranger, and especially the arm she'd tucked her pen up.

"Give me my pen back!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
When the other girl starts to back away, Chiyo takes a step back. If she can just....

Before the thought even completes Usagi is leaping at the girl to grab at her. It definitely caused a distraction that way. With a deep frown Chiyo reaches into her purse to grasp her cellphone.

Not to call the police, but to pull the little Bao charm there out holding it firm in hand. Then she turns to dash away behind the trees forgetting to say something suitable as an excuse like 'I'll go get help.'

The leaves crunch beneath her feet as she throws the Bao charm to the ground. "Bonito, hurry! Mystical Saibashi, to me!"

The little charm twinkles and shifts before it even hits the ground to transform into a slightly tubby white and orange cat that lands down on his feet. In his mouth are a pair of wooden chopsticks with a little floral pattern carved into the end. They're longer than usual, of the sort meant to cook with rather than eat with. It only takes a quick whip of his head to toss the sticks to Chiyo who catches them, and spins back to face the way she had come where Usagi and Catra were likely still clashing.

The Saibashi are held up in front of her to click together (like tongs, you have to always click tongs) and she declares, "Let's cook!"

A spark of fire ignites creating a plume of smoke around her obscuring her change into her magical girl form. No more than a moment later from the wafting smoke leaps a very angry Culinary Guardian Daifuku with the long poled Kine mallet she uses at her side. It's slammed into the ground as she runs forward using it to pole-vault herself into the air, out into the open, in a drop kick toward Catra.

"DROP IT THIEF!"

Catra has posed:
Wait a minute, this doesn't make sense. The people here are idiots, and invariably placid, they don't get up to defend themselves. Catra suddenly finds herself on the ground underneath Usagi, who's busy making a grab for her arm -- which she twists out of the way, of course. Getting the pen back certainly isn't going to be that easy.

"Get off me!" she snarls, "Don't make me hurt you as well." She scrabbles at th ground and pushes Usagi, crawling out from under her just in time to stand, and get drop-kicked, which puts her back on the ground on her backside, looking up at the now very much changed Chiyo.

A sly grin creeps up over the American's face, as she reaches up to push her hoodie off her head. "Ooohhhh, so you're one of those *magical girls* I've been hearing so much about, then? So the pen must be magic, too, right?" She stands up and stretches, and tilts her head to the side as she drops her illusion. Suddenly, in place of the American, there stands a tan-skinned girl with wild hair, cat ears and tail; and claws and teeth to match, clad in a dusty leather jacket and a red bodysuit. One yellow eye and one turquoise eye glint as her gaze darts back and forth between the two people she's more or less just picked a fight with.

"Alright, magical girl." Her grin becomes something a good deal more malicious, "Let's do this."

The five foot ball of anger jumps forwards, hand balled up into a fist and aimed straight for Chiyo's abdomen.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's not a chance Usagi can transform, right? It would be way too obvious, and she and Chiyo had been saying her name, because they're out in public, it would be too obvious. The only thing she can do is tackle this girl and try to hold on - only, there's a quick, hard shove and she's on the ground.

Plan A, failed.

Good thing Usagi only knows when to quit when it comes to school and chores.

"You're the one stealing from us!" She's back on her feet in a minute, aiming to tackle her again - only for the girl to change. There's suddenly not just an American, but a - "A kemonomimi?"

An honest to god cat girl, right in front of her. Are there magical cat people? Have magical cat people been a thing this whole time?! And of course, the magical cat girl is a thing because Culinary Guardian Daifuku is here -

Wait, what?

Usagi looks between the two, suddenly very aware that transforming is a bad idea, but maybe not the worst idea...

And then the cat girl is going right for Daifuku!

It's a terrible idea, but Usagi jumps right after her, making grabby hands at the one place Luna has drilled into her head never to grab - the tail.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku hops back from her kick/landing so that she's not completely ON Catra. Maybe she should have considered pinning her however. So far most of her fighting had been mostly at a distance or attacks with quick retreats to avoid counter attacks. Not one on one or two on one with someone fighting back directly!

Catra's revelation that she was felinoid was at least a little helpful in making her feel not so silly for transforming of all things. "You're a..." She begins likely to say something similar to what Usagi had just said already.

There's not much time to react to that when she has a punch coming for her.

The Kine is twirled in hand and swung up overhead--Not to hit but to spin toward her other hand which shoots up to grasp it holding the staff between both hands while she LETS the punch happen.

The impact is taken, doubling forward slightly so she can bring her raised arms down trying to entrap Catra between herself and the staff.

Catra has posed:
Catra is much stronger than her stature would suggest, which becomes immediately apparent to Chiyo as she hits her and hits her hard. But hey, magical girls are supposed to be tough, right?

Catra finds herself stuck, but... well, have you ever tried holding on to a cat that craves freedom? Especially after someone has grabbed-- "NOT THE TAIL!" she roars, and for a moment just becomes a flailing ball of teeth and pointy murder-bits in all directions.

"What on Etheria is your problem?! How'd you like it if I grabbed your ear and twisted, or shoved a claw up your nose?" She finally squirms loose of Chiyo's grasp and scrabbles back, bouncing to her feet and glaring at Usagi. "And what's a kemonigritchi or whatever you said? That's not me, I'm a *cat*. Get it right." She pauses, and grumbles, "And the fact that I have to hide that most of the time in this stupid city is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Give me my pen back and I'll let go!" Usagi yells back, not that she manages to actually stick to that - there's a whirling ball of murder after all, and after a few scratches break skin, she's forced to back off, arms bleeding. She's glaring, cheeks puffed. "A kemonomimi is someone who's like a person with animal features, like the cat ears and tail. And I figured you wouldn't run away like a thief if I had your tail!"

And she's shifting on her feet like bleeding hands or not, she WILL go for the tail again!

"And you probably should hide it because people would hit on you or something, or, I don't know, think you're an alien. I didn't make you hide anything! I just want my pen back! You're the bad guy here!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku was strong, too, even in her untransformed form. There's a difference between throwing things, lifting things, and trying to hold onto a squirming, fighting clawing creature. There's more than a few scratches earned for her attempt to keep her still while Usagi might, possibly, be able to get the pen from her sleeve--Except Usagi was pulling her tail causing Catra to fight harder.

She has to release her after a moment staggering a step or two away as she flinches feeling her ribs aching from that punch as well as the sting of scratches all over her.

"Nekomimi is specifically a cat girl," she adds on to Usagi's explanation of things. It's all she does offer. Her Kine is twirled back and swung forward to POINT at Catra.

"If you return it, I will gift you with bacon-wrapped mochi." She could do that. That was still in her wheel house even if it was more savory than sweet, but she was taking the chance that being a catgirl she might want meat of SOME sort.

Catra has posed:
"Did you... did you seriously just try to bribe me with food?" Catra looks, if anything, just utterly dismayed. This is what she's reduced to? "I mean come on, you have to know that's silly. Would you stop in the middle of a fight and just roll over if I offered you an ice cream or something?" Her eyebrows knot and she scowls, "I'm not a dog ready to do tricks for--OH NOT AGAIN!"

As Usagi goes for her tail again, Catra kind of... expands, somehow; she hasn't gotten any bigger, but the space she takes up is larger as she hisses vexedly. She jumps back from Usagi, and casts her gaze back and forth quickly between her and Chiyo. Or, Guardian Daifuku, whichever really.

"You *sure* you want to come get it back?" she sneers, "I've got *claws* you know, which neither of you seem to be very good at avoiding." Not that Catra isn't already nurshing some bruises of her own; and the end of the pen is visible at the edge of her sleeve, which she hasn't really noticed either. "Think you've got what it takes to take on a cat?" She balls her hands up into fists and holds them up in the air in front of her, "Come at me then!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You were eating donuts," Usagi says bluntly, "Cats donut really like those."

Yes she took the time to make the stupid joke.

"Daifuku-chan makes great snacks, and bacon would taste better than my pen. Give it back!"

And yeah, she did go for her tail - but mostly as a fake out, because now Catra is focusing a little more on her than on Daifuku.

"We're fighting over a pen. If I stole your sunglasses and you offered me some ice cream in exchange for cooling it with a dumb fight, I'd take you up on it!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"The food I make is blessed by Kamado-gami. It wouldn't be just food--It would heal and revive you," Daifuku states matter-of-fact. It wasn't just food she was offering but a means to ease or outright erase the pain that Catra was in from getting her tail pulled.

Usagi then starts to go on about how she makes great snacks, too, causing her to blink rapidly. Yeah the secret identity was probably out of the bag by now, but... It was too late to worry in this case.

It seems Catra was perfectly intent on fighting though. One foot steps forward so that her weight is positioned more evenly. All the better to bring her kine up again which she grasps two handed to slam down onto the ground. A ripple of fire laces out over the ground creating cracks in the surface, and from it shoot jets of steam all rolling out toward Catra.

Daifuku didn't *need* to call out her attacks, but she does so afterwards stating deadpan, "Baine Marie."

Catra has posed:
Catra doesn't exactly move, because someone twirling a weapon around while they're out of range to actually hit her with it isn't actually scary. What's she supposed to be scared of? It's like in that one Indiana Jones movie, with the guy with the swords and Jones just shoots him.

Except that Catra isn't packing, and then there's cracks in the ground and fire and "AUGH! Steam?! WHAT THE HELL"

Catra leaps about six feet into the air, like, well, a scalded cat. She lands on the bench, rolls off it, and falls on her side on the ground with a loud 'oomph'.

That, was unexpected.

"Fine," Catra grumbles, silently acknowledging that it actually *is* just a pen, she doesn't know how to use it anyway if it's not, and she's still an obligate carnivore who hasn't eaten any meat today. She tugs the pen out of her sleeve, and lobs it through the air to come... just short of where Usagi would be able to catch it. "I'll accept the bacon," she declares through her teeth.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi was not expecting that. Or the cat girl jumping in the air and falling over - it sounded like it hurt. And even though her hands are bleeding and she was the victim of this crime - she kind of feels bad now.

Not bad enough to not rush over and shove her pen as far into her pockets as she can, of course, but still pretty bad.

Now that the fight is over - and it definitely is over - Usagi feels a little... not silly, because again, she was the victim of here, but...

"...do you want to get lunch with me and my friend? Maybe?"

Sorry Chiyo-chan, she's volunteering you a little for this! "She kind of ran away when you robbed me, probably to get the cops? But, I bet I can find her pretty quick..."

It's not even that she's magnimonius in victory. She just, genuinely thinks maybe, lunch could solve some of this.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku steps back swinging the Kine over her shoulder to rest there rather than prepare to attack again at the reaction this one got. A breath is let out, perhaps feeling a bit guilty herself--Then again, no, Usagi got her pen and possible henshin device back. That was *very* important. Right? Right. Still she lets out a little breath and puffs her shoulders back.

"All right then. It's cooking time!"

Time... gets a little fuzzy. Just for a few moments. It seems as if an entire cooking show has suddenly taken place with Usagi and Catra in the audience watching as Daifuku works her culinary magic in a fully stocked kitchen. Then they're back where they were though Daifuku has a plate loaded up with skewers of soft, toasted mochi wrapped in still sizzling bacon. Not that cheap bacon either, but the thick cut meaty type. Easily a half a dozen of them.

Daifuku steps forward to offer a single skewer to Usagi with, "Eat up! For your health!" The rest is then walked over toward the fallen Catra to offer the plate out. "Thank you. There's no reason for us to fight -- Fill yourself with the warmth of a good meal!" Or snack. Really, but still. It was there. The plate is lain down near Catra, within reach, but she doesn't get closer in case she felt it was a trick.

Catra has posed:
Catra needs to make sure that Majorina does not hear about this.

She watches as Usagi is given a skewer, and then the plate is put down within her easy reach. She stretches out one hand, plucks a skewer, and basically just gnaws the first morsel off of it, all while maintaining an entirely sullen expression.

"...No," she snaps in Usagi's direction, after the invitation. "This doesn't mean we're on the same side, and it does *not* mean we're friends." What are friends but betrayal and pain waiting to happen, anyway? "...But I will admit that the bacon... tastes pretty good," she mumbles. Her ears lay flat against her head, until she reactivates her own illusion device and makes herself look like an American again.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Of course we're not friends, and we're not on the same side," Usagi agrees easily, "You don't like us, and I don't really like you yet either. But, I figured I would ask, you know? If nothing else I thought you'd like getting lunch on me."

She's got her pen back, and with every bite of the delicious crisp daifuku, she feels strength returning. The scratches on her arms and hands heal as quickly and thoroughly as if weeks of time had passed. She's very tempted to say that her actual cat has scratched her worse (that first week with Luna, before she knew Luna could speak was very informative), but she holds her tongue. "Thanks for giving me back my pen."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku nods in approval when Catra tries the treat she'd provided. The fact that usagi was also eating and healing was good as well. Standing fully again she remains a moment to watch the pair further. "Food doesn't judge what side anyone is on. It's something that should be shared, and enjoyed." Even so... She doesn't press the issue of having a meal with others.

Instead she turns to begin walking off. "Take care, Usagi-chan. Take care of your precious things," she warns with a flash of a smile toward her friend. There was limited time for her to dawdle after making that food. Her power was fading, and quickly, and she wasn't sure if it would matter to hide now or not... but she had to at least make the attempt. There were likely other eyes in the area that had seen the altercation, too. Without a further word she swings the Kine down using it to pole-vault off into the distance.

Catra has posed:
Well, they weren't friends, and Catra was the first to say it, but that didn't mean it didn't still sting just a little bit when Usagi echoed it. Just, deep down, and just a little bit.

Just the same, Catra snatched up two more skewers, and bounced back to her feet. She eyed Usagi mistrustfully -- she did pull her tail afterall, which makes everything entirely her fault in Catra's view -- and for a moment looks like she might actually growl.

"Don't wave your stuff around like that again," she mutters, "I might not give it back next time." And with that said, she turns around to stalk off, taking the skewers with her.